Police Carry Out Warrants Sweep

Jan 8th, 2008

Mobile police conducted a pre-dawn roundup of individuals with outstanding warrants, sending 24 people to jail Tuesday and collecting thousands of dollars in fines owed on a total of 69 warrants.

Special unit officers were carrying out phase two of last year’s amnesty program that gave people a one-month reprieve from jail to take care of outstanding fines and penalties for traffic and misdemeanor offenses. Those who failed to do so were warned they would be subject to arrests during on-going sweeps on the warrants.

Police went to homes and businesses through the early morning hours Tuesday, looking for individuals who failed to take care of traffic tickets or misdemeanor violations. The actions attracted small crowds of onlookers, despite the early hour.

Several distraught individuals woken by police at their doors had to make hurried, last-minute arrangements as they were led out to paddy wagons for a trip to Mobile Metro Jail. In a couple instances, mothers had to make child-care arrangements with neighbors. In one case, a restaurant manager was forced to leave his job for jail.

“It’s too bad that people have created such burdens on themselves and on the city,” said Police Chief Phillip Garrett. “We have done all we can to help them take care of their obligations. We are only asking that people take responsibility for their actions and pay the debts that are owed.”

The city of Mobile in July offered amnesty to anyone facing arrest on municipal warrants. They were allowed to come to various locations and take care of outstanding fines or, in a minority of cases, to arrange for court hearings on their violations, without facing arrest or jail time.

Outside of the amnesty period, those with outstanding warrants are subject to arrest at any time. Often police make these arrests in a traffic event, such as an accident or a traffic infraction. They also can be picked up in a variety of other circumstances. Since a traffic warrant results in a license suspension, for example, those individuals will be unable to get a license in any state until the warrant is rescinded.

Citizens can still avoid the embarrassment and hassle of arrest by going to Municipal Court and arranging to have their warrants processed. Those interested in finding out if they have arrest warrants may call the District Attorney’s Recovery Unit at 574-5510 or the Mobile Police Department Warrants Unit at 438-7033.