INDEPENDENCE - The first step in alleviating Kenton County's backlog of arrest warrants is likely to be an all-out push to find about 20 people on the list who are wanted on charges of committing violent crimes.
Under the direction of Kenton County Police Chief Mike Browning, officers have begun picking apart the list of more than 4,200 people wanted in the county. Before deciding how to pursue the backlog, he said, the department needs to know exactly what kinds of cases make up the list.
So far, about 10 percent of those wanted are sought on felonies, 19 of them violent crimes, the chief said. The numbers are preliminary and could change, he said, but he did not expect the number of violent offenders to top 25.
''You can't put your arms around this list right now,'' Chief Browning said. ''We've got to take a look at what's there before we figure out what we need to do about it.''
He intends to talk to the leaders of Kenton County's 14 other departments at their monthly meeting in early January. He wants to get their thoughts on his ideas before deciding which to implement.
But it is likely, he said, that some sort of team will be put together temporarily to attack the list of people sought on violent felonies.
''I'm saying, 'Let's get out there and find these 19,' '' he said. ''And then we can talk about what to do next.''
He has other ideas, too. Among them: Publishing a Kenton County's 10 Most Wanted poster that could be widely circulated. One of his officers suggested an amnesty day in court, on which prosecutors could offer to drop contempt charges in exchange for the defendants' coming forward to face their initial charges.
If the chiefs think it will help, he plans to divide the list by jurisdiction so that each department would know at a glance which defendants they should try to find. That categorizing could lead to better statistics kept for each department so officials would have some comparisons with which to mark progress, Chief Browning said.
Kenton County Deputy Sheriff Chuck Fieger has suggested the list be divided by city. That way, he said, every law enforcement agency would know immediately which ones they should pursue, rather than having to sort through the more than 4,200 names.
Chief Browning has talked with county treasurer Ivan Frye about buying some software that would make managing the list easier.
The warrants problem fell to the Kenton County Police Department after The Enquirer reported two weeks ago that the list had grown to more than 4,200 and the FBI had stepped in with a task force to help find those wanted for the most serious crimes.
Most on the list are wanted for misdemeanors such as theft by deception and contempt of court, but some are wanted for violent offenses such as rape and domestic violence.
Though the sheriff's department is generally regarded as the main warrant service unit in the county, state law enables any peace officer in the commonwealth to do the job - no one is required to do it. Sheriff Bill Steenken then pulled his two deputies out of the FBI task force, saying they could serve warrants out of his office.
The problem also lingers in Boone and Campbell counties, where each has a list of about 5,000 unserved warrants. But there, in contrast to their colleagues in Kenton, no officials are publicly pushing for change.
The issue gained clarity in Kenton County after the shooting death of Sandra Colston in April. Mrs. Colston's estranged husband, Donald Gene Colston, shot her to death in April despite being wanted on a year-old arrest warrant on charges of absconding on his probation.
Probation officials, despite having his address in Fort Wright, gave up trying to find Mr. Colston. He pleaded guilty in October to murdering Mrs. Colston.
Ludlow Police Chief Tom Collins said he has a lot of questions about how Kenton County plans to tackle the list. He does not think it would be fair to ask taxpayers of one city, for example, to pay for officers who were searching for fugitives elsewhere.
Chief Browning said he doesn't expect the other Kenton County departments ''to dedicate resources to any kind of unit. But I do want to know what kind of commitment they're interested in making.''
Chief Collins ran the sheriff's department's last fugitive warrants division, when he was a deputy from 1979 to 1987. Sheriff Steenken eliminated the unit shortly thereafter. Chief Collins said he averaged 500 warrant arrests every year. Six or seven deputies worked on warrants then.
''There was some legwork done,'' he said. ''And I think that's what needs to happen now.''
Officials of the Covington Police Department are not certain what kind of help they could offer, said Lt. Col. Steve Schmidt, an assistant chief.
''Certainly we will listen to what they have to say,'' he said.
The department already has two officers in the FBI's special Safe Streets Task Force, which is targeting the violent offenders as part of its mission.
Sheriff Steenken has pulled his two deputies out of the task force effective Tuesday. Covington added another officer, for the total of two, after Mr. Steenken decided to remove his men. The sheriff says he needs more information before deciding what role, if any, his department could have with Chief Browning's plans.
''He has to talk to the chiefs,'' the sheriff said of Chief Browning. ''They've got to be part of this before any decisions get made.''
Ludlow's Chief Collins says he'll be pleased only if more communication between departments comes of the situation.
''There's too many people trying to disclaim this thing, saying 'It's not my job,' '' he said. ''I don't care for that verbiage. We've got to work together.''
Previous stories
Warrant backlog worse in Boone, Campbell Published Dec. 22, 1996
Kenton police chief proposes special unit Published Dec. 19, 1996
Sheriff pulls deputies off FBI team Published Dec. 18, 1996
Lawmakers want answer to unserved warrants Published Dec. 17, 1996
4,200 unserved warrants in Kenton County Published Dec. 15, 1996
