The State of Delaware hosts a Safe Surrender Day later this month.
Safe Surrender is not an amnesty event, but an opportunity to quickly clear outstanding warrants.
The 2009 event allowed over 1,000 outstanding warrants to be cleared in just 3 days.
Justice of the Peace Court Operations Manage Roger Roof says the event is for anyone who is wanted by the State of Delaware.
“They’ll come into the court, they’ll be seen. We’ll see which court wants them, if they missed a court date or a payment plan, we’ll send them to that court. They’ll see a judge. The judge will give them a new court date or payment plan, and then send them home on their way,” explained Roof.
Cases will be considered on a case by case basis, with attending receiving favorable consideration for coming forward.
But if a person is facing a warrant for a violent felony, they may be taken into custody.
In 2009, only about 1% of those who participated were arrested.
The Delaware Judiciary expects a vast majority of individuals will leave with their warrants cleared.
State Sen. Darius Brown says many people have outstanding warrants for reasons beyond their control.
“There are so many individuals in our communities, unbeknownst to us, that are lying their lives with these fears of being pulled over because of failure to pay a fine or fee, a driver’s license suspension, a capias, or a warrant,” said Brown. “And we want to satisfy those things so they can provide for themselves and their family without having this fear.”
If someone is pulled over for a traffic violation with an outstanding warrant, they will be taken into custody. Some individuals live with that fear for years without taking action.
There will be more than a dozen judges and courtrooms set aside in the Leonard Williams Justice Center Friday, May 12 between 9am to 7pm to focus specifically on helping individuals resolve their issues.
While the event will be held in New Castle County, it is open to anyone in the state who could benefit from it.
