FRANKFORT, Ky. -
Justice Cabinet and courts officials said Thursday they will conduct a survey to see how many arrest warrants are sitting unserved and unnoticed in drawers and databases
across Kentucky.
This came as a blue-ribbon panel of law enforcement officials from across the state, including Kenton County Police Chief Mike Browning, discussed solutions to the backlogs Thursday. They found no easy answers.
''Every time we come up with an idea, it puts a problem on somebody else,'' Henderson Chief Ed Brady said.
The Western Kentucky lawman called unserved arrest warrants among the biggest problems police representatives must deal with as part of an examination of the state's criminal justice system.
Gov. Paul Patton requested the study last month to examine Kentucky's legal system and suggest repairs that the General Assembly can enact next year.
Kenton Chief Browning is dealing with a backlog of more than 8,000 warrants, and Henderson Chief Brady estimated his department has about 4,000 unserved.
Warrants are maintained on a county-by-county basis. That means, for example, that someone stopped for speeding on Interstate 75 in Kenton County could be wanted in neighboring Boone County, but police have no quick way of knowing the arrest warrant exists.
The Enquirer uncovered the worst-known failure of the system last year after Sandra Colston was murdered by her estranged husband. The newspaper revealed that her husband had an outstanding arrest warrant for a probation violation at the time of the shooting.
Officials said they could not find the man, a Fort Wright paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. Months later, an Enquirer examination found more than 9,000 unserved warrants in Kenton County.
The Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees the state's courts, and justice officials will begin determining how many warrants are unserved across Kentucky. Chief Browning said that might not be possible.
Without a computer system in Kenton County, he said a number would be hard to produce. Regardless, he said the number should not matter.
''We know there are thousands, and we know (the system is) broke,'' he said.
As a possible solution, law enforcement officials discussed using a state police database that local police can check for many of the warrants across the state.
''I think that's the first step to solving this,'' Chief Brady said.
Chief Browning said all the detailed personal information required by the state police system for someone who's wanted makes it unusable for everything but the most heinous crimes.
Solving the warrants backlog would create or add to other problems, like officers spending hours outside courtrooms to give a few minutes of testimony in a case. The problem was detailed in a recent Enquirer story, which was given to the Justice Cabinet by Chief Browning.
He said Kenton County schedules hearings at 30-minute intervals, but that still does not work. Officers still wait because defendants who ask for a trial blow the schedule.
''It's like tee times on a golf course,'' the chief said. ''If the first foursome screws up, then everybody's screwed up for the rest of the day.''
Ray Franklin, a national Fraternal Order of Police officer and retired Louisville policeman, said cases are lost in Jefferson County because officers are subpoenaed to be in different courtrooms for different trials at the same time.
Regardless of what solution is proposed, officers should be paid for the time, Mr. Franklin said.
Northern Kentucky departments spend thousands of dollars in overtime so officers can attend court hearings. Covington alone budgets $300,000 a year. Even assigned court days, where officers cite people to court on a specific day, is problematic, Mr. Franklin said, because attorneys and judges can change court dates.
''It's failed miserably on each occasion'' it's been tried in Jefferson County, he said. "... The last person whose timetable is considered is the police officer's.''
Chief Brady suggested more counties extend court hours to nights, when attending may be easier for officers and witnesses.
Arrest Warrants: Who's Responsible?
Kenton Co. lassoes fugitives June 10, 1997.
Kenton Co. makes headway on warrants May 8, 1997.
Warrant duty in dispute April 17, 1997.
Kenton Co. focuses on warrants March 23, 1997.
Kidnap suspect was wanted March 4, 1997.
Statewide effort sought to address backlog Feb. 26, 1997.
Sloppy warrant law cited Feb. 21, 1997.
Vague laws frustrate police Feb. 18, 1997.
Boone, Campbell focus on big backlog Feb. 16, 1997.
Kenton Co. sheriff cancels 2nd shift Feb. 13, 1997.
Warrants backlog burgeons Feb. 8, 1997.
Searchers will have updated suspect list Jan. 15, 1997.
Chief organizes warrant search Jan. 5, 1997.
Kenton to focus on most wanted Dec. 26, 1996
Warrant backlog worse in Boone, Campbell Dec. 22, 1996
Kenton police chief proposes special unit Dec. 19, 1996
Sheriff pulls deputies off FBI team Dec. 18, 1996
Lawmakers want answer to unserved warrants Dec. 17, 1996
4,200 unserved warrants in Kenton County Dec. 15, 1996
