When you get arrested,do you need to go to court to get a criminal record?

When I got arrested for possession of weed,the police did not give me an option to go to court,they then told me I have a criminal record and took down numerous details and wrote a lot of stuff with photographs too

If you were charged, they would book you and give you a court date.

When the police give you a break on the condition you will not do that again, they make a record of it in case a different officer deals with you the next time. He/she will look it up and know this isn't your first offense. They have internal records that aren't a record of conviction of anything, just an information record that will make them aware the next time your name pops up.