Mail Tribune News - OSP does first sweep on warrants

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OSP does first sweep on warrants CENTRAL POINT -- The Oregon State Police station conducted its first-ever warrants sweep Wednesday night, arresting five people. The warrants were mostly for traffic-related offenses. One warrant for failure to comply on a drunken driving charge was five years old. Seeking out people with outstanding warrants has been pushed to the back burner over the years, as a dwindling number of troopers focused on transportation safety. OSP Sgt. Michael Buckman got the idea for the sweep after looking at a big drawer full of state police warrants. So the OSP got help from Central Point police, along with a Jackson County corrections deputy and prisoner transport van, to arrest people on the warrants. The state police probably had about 50 or 60 people on its list, but there wasn't enough time or manpower to check on all of them. Police were able to check on about 20 places in about four or five hours. Buckman said people were surprised to be arrested. Unless stopped by police, who then run a check on them, "they're pretty much left alone," he said. Buckman hopes to invite more police agencies to participate in future warrant sweeps. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA