Generally speaking, an arrest occurs when police officers take a suspect into custody against his or her will. An arrest is complete the moment that the person being arrested can no longer walk away from the officer, an event which often takes place well before the suspect ever arrives at a jail. Arrests are expensive and disruptive to society, but the constitutional protection of probable cause serves as the primary constraint on the power of officers to deprive people of their liberty.
People may be arrested on the streets or in their homes, but most frequently they are taken to Central Booking (one of five locations across New York City) to do paperwork and be questioned. The accused person can be released or placed on a “hold” to await his or her first court appearance, which is called an arraignment.
Police officers, prosecutors, and other agents of criminal justice form the core of the police-state apparatus in the United States. Statutes, case law, and local ordinances provide the raw material for their operations.
The most serious crimes are called felonies, while lesser offenses are referred to as misdemeanors or infractions. Many different types of criminal acts fall into these categories, and they are all divided by the laws of the state into a range of punishments that are available to the courts. A court can punish a crime by imprisonment, fine, or disqualification from public office. It can also order restitution to victims of crime and rehabilitation programs for those who have been arrested for the same offenses.
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