Neighbors soon could be turning in neighbors, or people could start turning themselves in, if a new Montgomery County policeWeb site has the desired effect.
County police officials debuted an online traffic warrant list this week, containing the names and birthdates of 8,831 individuals wanted for alleged traffic offenses that could result in incarceration.
A police spokeswoman said the hope is that the site will reduce the number of warrants on file and give officers more time to focus on serving criminal warrants.
“Warrants take a lot of manpower to keep in compliance with the National Crime Information Center,” police spokeswoman Officer Melanie Hadley told The Examiner in an e-mail. “This program will give the public an opportunity to see if they are on the list and schedule an appointment to turn themselves in to us.”
Hadley added that officers often find that some people don’t realize they have a traffic warrant on file.
“Our goal is awareness,” Hadley said. “[The Web site] is a better alternative than if an officer stops someone for a minor traffic violation or a vehicle maintenance issue and it is at that time that they find out they have a traffic warrant issued against them. That person would be taken into custody immediately. …”
Hadley said the vast majority of the people with traffic warrants in connection with the list were there because they had failed to appear in court for offenses like driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license or driving without insurance.
Although the site contains both full names and birth dates, Hadley said police do not believe there is a privacy violation since warrants are public information.
“We don’t see it as creating an identity theft problem,” Hadley said. “The date of birth is basically an identifier. If we have two individuals with the same name, it’s just another tool to differentiate between them.”
Online
Click here to download the Montgomery County Traffic Warrant site.
