After a yearlong pause on certain warrants, the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office and Adult Detention Center will resume acting on all warrant types by April 1.
Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson informed justice partners of the move during a recent meeting of the Olmsted County Justice Council. Following a meeting with stakeholders, a two-phased approach will start Monday.
Phase 1 means that all gross misdemeanor-level warrants will be accepted at the adult detention center. On April 1, Phase 2 begins, and all misdemeanor warrants will be accepted. Non-support family warrants will still be on hold as the work release facility remains closed.
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The number of warrants fluctuates daily, but early last week Torgerson said there were 1,634 active warrants in the system. Although that number is not exceptional, Torgerson said, "It is high enough. We've got to start doing something."
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, both the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office and the Rochester Police Department have taken a more targeted approach on who gets arrested and who receives a citation in an effort to keep COVID-19 out of the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center. Part of that effort has also included only arresting people on felony warrants and so-called targeted misdemeanors that include domestic assault, violating a domestic abuse no contact for protection order, fifth-degree assault and driving while impaired.
Deputies won't be conducting a warrant sweep, but if they come across someone while working their assigned areas, "they will be able to make contact and do one of two things: advise them of the warrant and tell them to go in to court as soon as possible to get it taken care of or they can arrest the individual," Torgerson said.
Torgerson said his office wants to get ahead of a potentially new wave of warrants once Olmsted County District Court ramps up functions on May 1. Multiple officials who spoke to the Post Bulletin raised the concern that low-level criminal cases have been dormant throughout the pandemic and, as a result, the courts have lost contact with those people.
"We don't need to arrest these people, we just need to reconnect with them," Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. "This whole shutdown process has caused us to lose connection."
Attorney Lauri Traub, who is managing attorney for the Rochester Office of the Public Defender 3rd Judicial District, said she appreciates there is a backlog of warrants but doesn't see the urgency in arresting people on misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor warrants.
Most court functions are still being done virtually in the county, and even when a person is in custody, they are not being brought into a courtroom or sitting with their attorneys.
"We are taking all these steps to keep people safe and I don't see the urgency in picking up people in misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor warrants at this time," Traub said, noting that cases of COVID-19 are on the rise again in the state.
There are three ways to confirm that you have a warrant.
ADVERTIsem*nT
A list of all warrants, not including parking warrants, can be found on the Olmsted County's website on the Public Safety & Law Enforcement page under the "residents" tab.
Individuals can also call the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office's warrant line at 507-328-6800 ext. 4.
By calling the Olmsted County District Court's criminal division at 507-722-7279, a person can find out if they have a warrant and also schedule a court hearing time to address the matter.
