The Durham Police Department arrested 93 people during a four-day warrant roundup this month.
Several other people, including a fugitive wanted on a murder charge in Georgia, recently turned themselves in as a result of a letter-writing initiative by the Warrant Squad.
Warrant Squad officers with help from the department's High Enforcement Abatement Team (HEAT) squads and N.C. Community Corrections made 472 attempts to serve warrants during the four days of the roundup. Officers served 190 warrants on 93 people; 63 were felony warrants.
In October Warrant Squad officers obtained a list of outstanding warrants for the past five years in Durham. Officers spent two months locating current and accurate addresses for more than 1,000 wanted persons.
Warrant Squad officers then sent letters to these people notifying them that there was an outstanding warrant(s) for their arrest and instructing them to turn themselves in. More than 300 warrants have been served due to people who turned themselves in after receiving the letters.
Officers also discovered that 12 people with a total of 24 warrants had died and 10 people already incarcerated had warrants.
Comments
1 Right Step
Sat, 01/14/2012 - 18:55 — NCDavidThis is one step in the right direction. I can't believe how long it has been and how little has been done with outstanding warrants. I remember city manager Bonfield saying he had no money in the budget for serving the warrants unless he "cut essential services". "Essential services" in Durham means the Scrap Exchange that got several thousand dollars that year and the Huma Relations Commission, that got much more. If those are "essential services" I have some real esate in Florida to sell the city.
I read elsewhere today that the police & sheriff's dept would also double check all the concealed carry permits issued here & be sure non of them were to criminals. Duh, that was established when the permits were issued, remember? People had to take a class & have backgournd checks done. Do they seriously think they will find any siginificant offenses now? How about searching the streets for parole absconders? We have 376 absconders in Durham County. Would they not be a better place to start than legal permit holders?
Do the inmates run the asylum here in Durham? Sometimes, it seems.