Media

Sheriff’s Office provides citizen link to fugitives and others involved in criminal activity

Release Date: January 31, 2003

Sheriff Mark Luttrell announced today an interactive Internet program to help capture thousands of people currently wanted by law enforcement agencies.

“There are almost 60,000 local warrants issued for people who have violated the law and have failed to appear in court for the charges. We feel having this tool available to the public will help us clear many cases,” said Shelby County Sheriff Mark H. Luttrell, Jr.

The thousands of warrants range from serious felonies to minor offenses such as outstanding traffic charges. It is important to note that Indictments for people who are not yet in custody are not included in this program. State law prohibits the release of the names of people wanted in sealed indictments.

Via the Internet the public can search outstanding warrants by first and last name, outstanding warrants for persons with the same last name, or all persons with outstanding warrants on a particular street.

To search the warrant database go to www.shelbywarrants.org, www.shelby-sheriff.org, or www.memphispolice.org and click on the link.

The web page is interactive and there is a link for emailing information and questions directly to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Squad. Work is underway to develop a direct Internet chat feature to Deputies manning the call desk in the Fugitive Squad.

The Sheriff issues this very strong word of caution to persons checking the web warrant database. Read the disclaimer published in red on the “Warrants Database” screen. The disclaimer reminds the public that they should not attempt to arrest or detain any person who has a warrant listed in this database.

Some individuals may be armed or dangerous. The warrants database is only updated every 24 hours and some warrant may no longer be active. Additionally, prosecution may be declined on some warrants for various legal reasons and thus the warrant may not be servable. Each warrant must be verified before a law enforcement officer can serve it.

Individuals with a warrant or those having knowledge of another person who does, should contact the Fugitive Squad at (901) 545-5625 or click the “email” link on the web page and provide any information they desire.

If the database indicates you personally have a warrant on file you may wish to seek legal counsel to determine if the warrant can be resolved without arrest. The SCSO cannot give legal advice.

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