Monday, March 9, 2009

Andrew Martinez & Hudson Lockett
Daily Texan

News Briefly: 03/09/09

Law enforcement agencies from more than 200 Texas jurisdictions worked together this weekend to crack down on unpaid Class C misdemeanors, which include outstanding parking tickets, traffic violations and public intoxication offenses.

The collaboration, called the Great Texas Warrant Roundup, began Saturday and is expected to last for several days.

"We have millions and millions of dollars in outstanding tickets," said Travis County Constable Bruce Elfant. "Every so often we need to do these roundups to gain compliance."

Elfant said most law enforcement agencies lack the resources to patrol Class C warrants, leading to a backlog of tickets that remain unpaid for years.

"The courts were the ones getting behind," Elfant said. "Class C warrants are not the mos t important."

Police began the roundup as early as 5 a.m. in some areas of Travis County.

"We like to get them before they’re awake," Elfant said. "When they’re recovering from Friday night. We’re not really interested in booking them in jail. If we have to, we will.

Usually we’ll just put folks in a conference room and let them dial for dollars. It’s pretty effective."

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