WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |New traffic stop equip. focuses on warrants

New traffic stop equip. focuses on warrants

By Tyana Williams - bio | email

WALKER, LA (WAFB) - For years, drivers pulled over by Walker police knew they could get away without paying tickets because their history couldn't be tracked at a traffic stop, but that will soon change with the purchase of a special piece of equipment.

There are almost as many outstanding warrants in Walker as there are people living there. Mayor Bobby Font says over 5,000 warrants could translate into half-a-million dollars for the city, but until now, there's been no way to collect. Police are patrolling day and night, looking for lawbreakers. 

An old cabinet at the Walker Clerk of Courts Office is filled with the paperwork from every unpaid ticket since 2004. "And that has created a huge backlog of warrants," said Mayor Font. "Knocking on the door of 3,000 and moneywise looking right at half-a-million." He says the city could use that money to fix potholes, dig out ditches, and purchase new computer equipment for the police department.

Police issue tickets but people don't show up for court. "See that's the problem," said Clerk of Court Jan McDonald. "They don't come in. I see the tickets come in for a particular person who I know we've got three or four outstanding warrants. And this one's going to be the same way. When that court date comes and goes, that person won't appear, won't pay, and it'll go in the drawer with the rest of them."

Font and McDonald say for years, drivers pulled over by Walker police knew they could get away with not paying because the city had no way to track a driver's history at a traffic stop. Mayor Font says the town has purchased a program called Thinkstream, which will allow every surrounding agency to see if a violator has a warrant.

For now, they are allowing drivers the chance to pay up, without being punished. "From this point forward to September 1st, an amnesty program if you will, where individuals, if you have a warrant here with Walker, you can step in the door and pay the original fine only," said Mayor Font. The mayor says after that day, if you don't pay or fail to appear in court, you will go directly to jail if an officer pulls you over and sees you have a warrant.

He says this way the city can get what it's owed and drivers can wipe the record clean. Walker also has another 2,000 outstanding warrants from before 2004. The city hopes to collect on those. If you need to check on your unpaid ticket, you can call the Clerk of Court at (225) 664-7692.

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