Sheriff Starts Safe Surrender Program

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Anne Arundel County Sheriff Jim Fredericks is implementing a new initiative to make warrant service safer, improve transparency through public access to information, and ultimately reduce the number of outstanding warrants in Anne Arundel County. The new program is called Safe Surrender, and combines online availability of warrant information with a safe way to serve those warrants.

“This program has been in the works for close to a year and it could not come at a better time,” Fredericks said. “With recent shootings and deaths involving the service of criminal warrants, increasing information to the public and creating a safer warrant service environment can potentially save the lives of citizens and law enforcement officers.”

The program works by providing online access to about 9,000 county warrants, with information to arrange for warrant service, and offering additional resource information about the warrant process. The warrants range from simple traffic warrants to certain felonies. “There are certainly instances when someone may not be aware they have a warrant and this program will allow for the discovery of, and safe service of, their warrant,” Fredericks said.

This program is one piece of the sheriff’s vision to reduce outstanding warrants in the county. The sheriff’s office plans to release a mobile platform in the near future to enhance access to online warrant data, and offer greater access to court, victim and health information.

“We have been working hard to get these priorities moved forward over the last two years,” Fredericks said. “The ideas of more accessible, public-facing information regarding warrants, modernizing our capabilities, and creating more positive interaction with community members have driven us to launch the Safe Surrender program.”

The online warrant database is available through the Safe Surrender link at www.aacounty.org/sheriff.

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