Plano Star-courier > Cops
Department 'rounds up' warrants: Annual event nets 1,600 closures
By Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
The Plano Police Department collected $257,000 in fines during the Great Texas Warrant Roundup earlier this month.
The majority of the warrants served were for Class C misdemeanors, but 35 people were arrested during the event. In total, 1,618 outstanding warrants were cleared. Officer David Tilley said the annual event is the culmination of long hours of work by both officers and community volunteers.
"For two weeks before the event, we have officers and volunteers who have lists of all of the people with warrants from our department," Tilley said. "We call the people and try and give them every opportunity possible to handle their warrant without being arrested."
Even with the large number of warrants cleared during the roundup, the department barely made a dent in the total number of warrants issued. Currently, Plano PD has more than 20,800 outstanding warrants issued to 7,700 defendants, which carry a face value of $6.85 million. Tilley said most of the warrants are for misdemeanors, noting that felony warrants are typically issued by Collin County and are served by a team of officers because of the higher risk associated with potential felons.
"There are hundreds of warrants that are issued every month," Tilley said, adding that warrants can also stem from things such as code violations. "The warrant unit doesn't have enough officers to get the amount of warrants we have issued cleared, which is unfortunate."
For a list of outstanding warrants and information on how to pay any fines associated with them, visit www.plano.gov/Departments/Police/Pages/warrants.aspx.
The majority of the warrants served were for Class C misdemeanors, but 35 people were arrested during the event. In total, 1,618 outstanding warrants were cleared. Officer David Tilley said the annual event is the culmination of long hours of work by both officers and community volunteers.
"For two weeks before the event, we have officers and volunteers who have lists of all of the people with warrants from our department," Tilley said. "We call the people and try and give them every opportunity possible to handle their warrant without being arrested."
Even with the large number of warrants cleared during the roundup, the department barely made a dent in the total number of warrants issued. Currently, Plano PD has more than 20,800 outstanding warrants issued to 7,700 defendants, which carry a face value of $6.85 million. Tilley said most of the warrants are for misdemeanors, noting that felony warrants are typically issued by Collin County and are served by a team of officers because of the higher risk associated with potential felons.
"There are hundreds of warrants that are issued every month," Tilley said, adding that warrants can also stem from things such as code violations. "The warrant unit doesn't have enough officers to get the amount of warrants we have issued cleared, which is unfortunate."
For a list of outstanding warrants and information on how to pay any fines associated with them, visit www.plano.gov/Departments/Police/Pages/warrants.aspx.
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