The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is using a different kind of net to snag people wanted on warrants.
It is using the Internet, specifically Facebook, to find approximately 40 people wanted on active warrants.
The effort, called Warrant Watch, has already resulted in the arrest of one person since its launch about a week ago, said Sheriff Thomas Lorey. “We have received a number of tips already, and one panned out. The person we arrested was where the tipster said he would be,” he said.
Most of the people on the list are wanted for minor offenses, such as failure to appear, or failure to pay a fine, Lorey said, but there are several felony warrants, such as grand larceny, and one person, William Dee, is wanted for rape, according to Warrant Watch.
Lorey said many on the list have fled the area, and he hopes to find them by publicizing their names through Facebook. “People are evading the law and they shouldn’t be,” he said.
The idea came from a sergeant who had seen something similar on TV, Lorey said. “He suggested we try it and we put it on our Facebook page,” he said. The page is listed under the Fulton County Sheriff’s Association. It has more than 500 friends.
People can make a tip about someone on the list through Facebook; they can call it in to 773-8294; or they send a tip to: [email protected]
Lorey said the phone line is checked frequently and that he has assigned several deputies to monitor the Facebook page. He said all tips are confidential.
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