GILROY
– Think there might be an arrest warrant in your name? The Santa
Clara County Sheriff’s Department is hosting a special open house
on April 17-18 in San Martin to make turning yourself in as
painless as possible.
GILROY – Think there might be an arrest warrant in your name?
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department is hosting a special open house on April 17-18 in San Martin to make turning yourself in as painless as possible.
If you don’t, that warrant will hang over your head until the next time you encounter a police officer. Then you’ll be arrested, and the judge might not be so sympathetic as if you had surrendered yourself voluntarily.
“What we’re trying to do is help the people of South County take care of some warrants, help them get some court dates,” said Deputy Gerhard Wallace of the sheriff’s warrants division.
Another aim of the sweep, Wallace said, is to raise money for the department, which faces more than $3 million in cuts for the fiscal year that begins July 1 – about 3.4 percent of its current $87 million budget. The more revenue the department can generate through processing fees, the fewer patrol officers it will need to lay off. In the 2002-03 fiscal year, the department generated about $38 million in revenue.
People can deal with their warrants any time at the sheriff’s substation on Monterey Road in San Martin, but on April 17-18, deputies and the court will make a special effort to accommodate them.
“I’ve already talked to some of the judges; they’ve set aside some time for this,” Wallace said.
For misdemeanor warrants, deputies plan to release the accused parties with promises to appear in court later. With more serious charges, deputies may take the defendants into custody. Suspects then could post bail or seek release at a court hearing.
If you don’t know whether you have a warrant, contact the Sheriff’s Department in San Martin at 686-3650 during business hours, or 808-4700 after hours.
