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10 ways to reduce Pinellas Countys huge backlog of outstanding warrants

By SCOTT SWOPE Democratic candidate for Pinellas County Sheriff In the early days of September, Pinellas Countys interim sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, revealed a startling fact his department is in possession of more than 56,000 outstanding warrants that have not been served. This fact was revealed after a Pinellas County resident and convicted felon, Gregory Johns, was shot to death in a Treasure Island motel room as sheriffs deputies tried to arrest him on child sex charges. Police said Johns had allegedly raped the 11-year-old daughter of his girlfriend several times. This incident brought to light the fact that Johns had been named in a felony arrest warrant that had been issued in February 2011 but not served until July 2012, a month after the girl was raped. I have asked Gualtieri for information about the outstanding warrants how many involve violent felony crimes, how many involve violent offenders, and how many involve the crime of murder. So far, Gualtieri has failed to respond. Also, Gualtieri has exhibited little concern about these unserved warrants. Three years ago, as chief deputy, Gualtieri abolished the 16-person fugitive unit within his department that tracked down and arrested lawbreakers who were named in warrants. Even after the Gregory Johns incident, Gualtieri said he stood by his decision. He said connecting the Johns case to the warrants backlog was silly. Since the backlog of 56,000 arrest warrants does not seem to concern Gualtieri, I would like to offer 10 suggestions for reducing the number of warrants being held by the sheriffs office. Some of these ideas have been used successfully by other law enforcement agencies around the country: REMOVE THE NAMES OF DECEASED PEOPLE: Check the warrants list against the death certificates in the Pinellas County Public Records. Some of the warrants have been held by the Sheriffs Office for decades; some of those named may well have died since their warrants were issued. 2. INVITE PEOPLE TO CLEAR UP THEIR WARRANTS: Begin a public relations campaign to simply invite people to address their outstanding warrants.
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Supply an 880-number and a web site page. Other jurisdictions have found this surprisingly effective. OFFER INCENTIVES: Working with the chief judge and the clerk of court, offer to drop the failure to appear warrant if the person comes in and settles up the original warrant within a given amount of time. For example, some people who failed to appear in court for an original infraction were then named in a failure-toappear warrant. For minimal risk, non-violent offenders, we could offer a nightonly purge where people with jobs could turn themselves in after work and be released in the morning so their incarceration does not harm their employment or adversely affect their financial obligations to their families. ASK THE PUBLIC TO HELP: With 56,000 outstanding warrants, there should be friends and relatives who would see the benefit to turning in their friends and loved ones who have outstanding warrants its a good way to keep them from committing additional crimes and, perhaps, putting themselves or others in danger. POST THE WARRANTS ON THE SHERIFFS WEBSITE: People could search the warrants site by various searchable key words, including first and last names and birth dates or ages. If they find someone who has an outstanding warrant, they could notify the authorities. LURE WANTED PEOPLE WITH PRIZE OFFERS: Many jurisdictions have mailed false offers of prize winnings to get wanted people to show up to collect their prizes. They are then arrested. DISMISS SOME OLD WARRANTS: Working in conjunction with the state attorneys office, some old warrants could be dismissed after they are reviewed. Those named in the warrants may be deceased, or witnesses may have died or may no longer be available. Such warrants involving relatively minor charges may deserve to be dismissed. MATCH WARRANT DATABASE WITH VARIOUS STATE DATABASES: Match the warrant database with state databases that involve childcare vendors, school teachers, public assistance recipients and drivers and other licenses. Besides turning up names, it could also turn up new addresses for those named in warrants. PARTNER WITH THE NEWS MEDIA: Ask local newspapers and television stations to partner in a warrant reduction program. The media outlets could make space or broadcast time available for running photos and descriptions of wanted individuals who are the most dangerous. Or, the sheriffs office could pay for media space/time through the use of funds from seized property. Then, reporters could be offered the opportunity to accompany deputies as they serve the warrants. ANNOUNCE JAIL TIME FOR MISDEMEANOR WARRANTS: Working in conjunction with the chief judge and the state attorneys office, publicly announce that people with misdemeanor warrants have a week to clear them up. If they dont, and they are arrested or ticketed, they will go to jail. This simple announcement in Baton Rouge, La. resulted in the clearing of more than 5,000 warrants and brought in more than $500,000.

Not all of these ideas may work, Swope said. But most of them have worked in other law enforcement jurisdictions around the country. Lets give some of them a try. Sometimes solutions require ideas, not money. Scott Swope is the Democratic candidate for sheriff, running against Gov. Rick Scotts appointee, interim sheriff Bob Gualtieri. Swope, a former traffic homicide investigator and magistrate, is running on a platform focused on violent crimes, traffic safety, crimes against seniors and children, human trafficking, and responsible gun ownership. He has broad support across party lines includes numerous current and former elected officials, the AFL-CIO, and the Libertarian Party of Pinellas County.

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Editors note: For additional information or comments, please contact Scott Swope at 727743-0800 or at SwopeforSheriff@gmail.com .

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