Overview
The Judicial Branch’s Paperless Arrest Warrant Network (PRAWN) is a system used to manage and serve arrest warrants electronically. PRAWN was implemented in 2002 following Public Act 00-209, which authorized the entry of Failure to Appear warrants into a central computer system.
The system was expanded to support additional types of court warrants and arrest orders. It was implemented in all municipal police departments in August 2005 and in all state police units in March 2007.
Today, PRAWN is used by more than 140 local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies. Recent statistics show that more warrants are being served as a result of the system.
System Components
PRAWN includes two main components that support warrant processing:
Inquiry
The inquiry component allows criminal justice agencies to locate detailed warrant information and identify the agency responsible for the warrant.
It also allows officials to determine whether an individual has an outstanding arrest warrant.
Custodial Processing
The custodial processing component allows authorized law enforcement agencies to serve warrants using electronic records.
New warrants are distributed in a paperless format, allowing agencies to print required custody documents directly from the system.
How the System Works
When an arrest warrant is issued, data is entered into the Criminal Motor Vehicle System (CRMVS). This information is immediately transmitted to PRAWN and becomes available to criminal justice agencies across the state.
Agencies can access this information directly through PRAWN or through related systems such as the Connecticut Online Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing System (COLLECT) and the Connecticut Information Sharing System (CISS).
When an active warrant is located, authorized agencies can use the custodial processing component to serve the warrant.
PRAWN also includes other judicial custody orders, such as warrants for Violation of Probation and Judgment Mittimus orders for individuals who fail to satisfy their sentences.
Additional Information
For current PRAWN statistics, visit: PRAWN Statistics Page .