LaPorte County Sheriff’s Major John Boyd said in a press release that if elected, he will change the manner in which warrants are handled.
Boyd is running for sheriff on the Republican ballot. The primary election is May 6 and the general election is Nov. 4.
The sheriff’s office currently holds more than 6,000 warrants, Boyd said, with no current plan to address the high number.
“The warrants being held by the sheriff’s office range from criminal felony and misdemeanor warrants to body attachments that have been issued by LaPorte County courts regarding civil judgments,” Boyd said. “Each month the sheriff’s office receives more warrants from our courts than are served and it is due in large part to the inefficient use of manpower within the Warrants Division. Currently, the Warrants Division is comprised of one officer with the rank of captain and two deputies. This three-man unit spends the vast majority of each day transporting wanted persons who were captured in other jurisdictions back to LaPorte County. The remainder of the day is spent conducting warrant computer entry.
“The fact that more than 6,000 defendants remain at large and unaccounted for is unacceptable. However, there are several solutions to this problem. Civilian clerks should be conducting this warrant data entry, rather than deputies, who should be out seeking wanted fugitives. In-state extraditions could be handled by jail deputies driving jail vans, thus freeing our warrant deputies to more effectively seek out those who are wanted. Warrant deputies travel approximately 35,000 miles each year conducting these transports, and in most cases, these in-state transports could be handled as effectively by jail deputies, as is done in many other counties in Indiana.
“The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office currently serves as the repository for nearly every warrant issued in LaPorte County. As sheriff, I will work with law enforcement agencies in LaPorte County to address this issue. In addition, I will seek the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and join forces with its Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force to reduce our large number of criminal warrants. Other mechanisms to reduce our inordinate amount of warrants could include a joint effort between courts and prosecution to offer limited amnesty concerning reduced bond for non-violent offenders who surrender themselves in a prescribed amount of time. We have witnessed a substantially reduced number of crimes committed in the period following warrant sweeps in LaPorte County, and that is due to the fact that these offenders cannot re-offend if incarcerated.
“Criminal warrants are issued by courts near the conclusion of criminal investigations. We owe it to the citizens of LaPorte County to complete each case by making arrests and bringing suspects to justice. In many cases, the failure to seek out these suspects in a timely and efficient manner is justice delayed.”
Boyd has been a member of the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office since 1990. He previously held the ranks of deputy, sergeant and captain, as well as chief of detectives, and is now third in command with the rank of major. He is a 1988 graduate of Purdue University and a 1989 graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy.