Deputies crack down on outstanding warrants in Harris County

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Harris County Precinct 1 Constable's Office conducted a warrant roundup Saturday, netting several arrests. And Eyewitness News went along for the ride.

Deputies hit the road around 5:30am, trying to put a dent in a stack of outstanding warrants. They were specifically looking for lower-level offenders with outstanding warrants.

"People should expect that we'll be coming for them, bring them in, and hold them accountable for not paying their warrants," Pct. 1 Lt. Carl Shaw said.

The warrant roundup is a regular enforcement action for the constable's office. They say many offenders choose to do it the hard way. They don't pay their outstanding warrants or citations, and then they end up in handcuffs.

At any given time in Houston alone, there can be a backlog of close to 300,000 outstanding warrants. Most of the arrests Saturday were for Class C misdemeanors.

The last time Pct. 1 did a roundup like this, it netted a total of about 60 arrests, and cleared more than 300 warrants off the books.

Those who weren't home when deputies knocked got a reminder to pay up. Those who opened the door got a ride downtown in handcuffs.

"It's important to get these cleared because these are offenses that people have committed, and they have not made their commitment to pay off the offense," Shaw said.

Find Simon on Facebook at ABC13SimonGutierrez or on Twitter at @sggutierrez

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