Chief Upbeat About Warrant Program

The Fugitive Safe Surrender program announced last week by the state attorney general and law enforcement officials from Union and Essex Counties has the potential to be a positive for Westfield, according to the police chief.

Chief John Parizeau said that while the overall impact of the November program will not be known until then, there will likely be benefits for the town. The program, administered by the two counties and the U.S. Marshall's office, will allow non-violent offenders with outstanding warrants to turn themselves in, in return for favorable consideration in judicial processing. The program will run from Nov. 4-7 at the Bethany Baptist Church in Newark.

There are currently 1,000 warrants outstanding for non-violent offenses in Union County, along with 9,000 such warrants in Essex County. These can include warrants for failure to show up for traffic court, not paying certain fines and other minor offenses.

Parizeau said the program will likely help reduce the number of Westfield warrants that are outstanding, although he did not know the exact number of local warrants. Many of the arrests made weekly by the police—most following a traffic stop—are for an outstanding warrant from Westfield or a neighboring community.

Parizeau said his department does not normally actively pursue those with outstanding warrants from Westfield. He said the current manpower allocations do not permit this, with many only being arrested following a traffic stop in town or another town. He said the Newark program will allow the individuals to expedite and resolve the process, while not using up manpower in his department.

While officers don't actively pursue those with outstanding Westfield warrants, they do have to spend time processing the paperwork when someone with an outstanding warrant is arrested.