Every arrest warrant commands that the officer "shall arrest." However, in some cases, such as in pocket warrants, the officer has a command to arrest but chooses when and where to execute. Must every arrest warrant be executed if revealed as a preliminary hit during a traffic stop, or may the officer inform the person of the hit, tell them to check on it, and send them on their way.

Not sure what you mean by "preliminary" or "pocket" warrants, but I lost count of the number of times (when I was on the street) that I would find out a driver was wanted (traffic warrants) and wouldn't arrest them. Single mom with kids in the car - situations like that. I've often just told them where the warrants were from and that they needed to take care of them.

Preliminary hit is when you get a hit on NCIC but have not yet had dispatch call the originating department to confirm the warrant. Pocket warrant is literally an arrest warrant signed by a judge, but kept by the officer and not entered in any computer such that only the officer knows about it and decides when and where to execute it.

Thanks. That's what I'm getting from our officers, too. I cannot point to anything in the law that says an officer does not have to arrest, but it's been going on this way for a long time.

I don't arrest anyone without a confirmation. On Class C's or traffic warrants, it's pretty much at our discretion. Just depends on the circumstances at the time, what the warrant is for, whether or not the originating agency will extradite if out of state or transport if within state, etc.