`i Want To Make The Best Of It.' 
Cougar Swimmer Leaves 
The Baseball Diamond 
For Life In The Wet Lane

Accident Victim Listed `critical'

By JENNIFER HENN; Special to The Times Leader
 Saturday, January 04, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE -- In an effort to cut down on approximately 3,000 outstanding
warrants for traffic and parking offenders, the city is changing its tactics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Of that total, some drivers have 15 to 20 outstanding warrants for traffic
and parking violations. It is those multiple offenders who will be included in
a list of names the city will compile and offer for release. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The city hopes that releasing the names of outstanding warrant-holders to
the media starting this month will encourage more offenders to settle their
debts. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've changed our approach," says Deputy Chief William Barrett. "We used
to pursue these offenders passively, only serving the warrants when we came
across the offenders." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Now, in addition to releasing the names, police are actively seeking out
those with outstanding warrants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We now have officers doing nothing but serving these warrants," says
Barrett. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officers are also now responsible for parking and traffic violators they
ticket. Previously, police would write tickets without being involved in the
subsequent process. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officers writing tickets are accountable for ensuring that the offender
resolves it. Officers follow the ticket through the process and are
responsible for serving any related warrants. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Every month a list is printed out tallying the amount of outstanding
warrants there are for tickets written by each officer," says Barrett. "That
way we can keep track of how many there are and who's not following up on
them." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police expect to have the number of outstanding warrants under control in
the next two years. The number is down from the nearly 5,000 reported last
January. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm happy to see the city cracking down on this," said District Justice
Michael Collins. "These type of warrants have always been a problem; they just
keep accumulating." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Collins said such enforcement benefits the city and perhaps the new
measures will discourage people from allowing their violations to become
outstanding. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "After all," he said, "Nobody wants to see their name in the paper as
having a warrant out for their arrest." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Light Of Publicity To Shine On W-b Scofflaws The City Continues To Whittle Away At Its Backlog Of People Who Refuse To Pay Their Traffic Fines