Sheriff’s Office to offer “Amnesty Period” on outstanding warrants

If you read the newspaper, you could get a shock Sunday morning.

The names of 20,000 people who have outstanding warrants in El Paso County will be printed in the El Paso Times and El Diario.

This is part of a move made by the Sheriff’s Department and Justice of Peace Offices.

Sheriff Richard Wiles announced the move as part of an “Amnesty Period.”

During the period, from Sept. 17-28, any citizens with an outstanding warrant in El Paso County will be offered the chance to pay off their warrant without paying the additional failure to appear charge.

That charge usually ranges from $200 to $300, Wiles said.

The hope of the newspaper posting is to remind people of their outstanding warrants, while also pressuring them to pay off their debts.

“Hopefully you’ll be embarrassed enough cause your family, and friends, and co-workers will see your name there,” Wiles said.

In the seven Justice of the Peace precinct offices, there are a total of 45,000 outstanding warrants.

“We’re trying to reduce that number. We want people to have the opportunity to come in and clear those warrants out of the system,” Wiles said.

Of those 45,000, only warrants from the past three years or around 20,000 names will be listed in the paper. Still, everyone is required to pay off their warrants.

The last “Amnesty Period” offered by the Sheriff’s Office was in 2010.

According to Wiles, they took in around $200,000 over the two-week period.

He said that was much more than usual.

Following the period, sometime in October, the Sheriff’s Office plans to visit the homes and places of work of those who did not pay their warrants.

They intend to arrest and book those who do not pay, Wiles said.