From Monday until Oct. 31, the city of College Station will run the fall warrant amnesty period, allowing citizens the chance to clear any outstanding warrants without paying a case fee.
The amnesty period comes before a planned College Station warrant round-up from Nov. 1 through Nov. 9.
The warrant amnesty period is held every fall and spring to help citizens who pay their fines in full avoid paying a $50 warrant fee.
Lt. Allan Baron, public information officer for the University Police Department, said the warrant amnesty program is a grace period for individuals to avoid going to jail.
“The local warrant amnesty program allows individuals with outstanding Class C Misdemeanor warrants the opportunity to pay their fines and avoid additional warrant fees when paid in full,” Baron said. “It also allows individuals to avoid the embarrassment of being arrested and transported to jail.”
Whether the warrant is for a speeding ticket or a noise complaint, many people overlook the necessity to show up in court, said Judge Edward Spillane, presiding judge for the College Station Municipal Court.
“We’re doing our best to get people to come to court and avoid being arrested,” Spillane said. “We have quite a few warrants right now.”
Spillane said about 5,000 warrants are issued each year, and said the warrant amnesty period does an efficient job of clearing a good amount of those. He said about 300 people come by the court each period.
College Station City Marshall Chadd Harkrider said after the amnesty period the focus shifts to making arrests.
“We have officers looking for them on a daily basis — our focus is on making arrests rather than just talking to them about coming in,” Harkrider said. “The amnesty period allows them to come into court without risk of being arrested to take care of their cases — after that is over we focus on going out and actively making arrests.”
The College Station Municipal Court publishes a list of all outstanding warrants at cstx.gov/warrants.