By Tony McVeigh
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-807004.mp3
Frankfort, KY – Kentuckians with outstanding arrest warrants who are trying to duck the law just got some more bad news. Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh says police will soon have a new statewide tool to help bring accused scofflaws to justice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Within the next two years, Kentucky will have an electronic, interlinked system that Governor Beshear says will revolutionize the way arrest warrants are served in the commonwealth. He says the system allows judges to electronically process and sign warrants from their cell phones, then quickly distribute the information to police officers in their cruisers.
"Where before it could potentially take days, weeks or months to process and serve a warrant or summons, it can now take minutes or hours."
The E-Warrant system is already active in Jefferson, Campbell, Scott, Bourbon and Woodford counties, and more than 62-percent of warrants entered have been served. Under the old paper-based system, in which warrants reside in each county, as many as 300-thousand warrants were outstanding on any given day in Kentucky. Governor Beshear says the E-Warrant system will break-up that backlog.