Great Texas Warrant Round-Up Begins Saturday, March 5

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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Beginning on Saturday, March 5, more than 300 law enforcement agencies and courts from across the State of Texas will participate in the 2016 Great Texas Warrant Round-up.

The round-up is the ninth annual, state-wide effort to get defendants to clear up any unpaid fines or tickets and avoid possible arrest for outstanding warrants. Law officials may come to your home, school, or office and will arrest you on the spot if you have an outstanding warrant. Those stopped while driving could also face having their vehicle impounded and incur additional costs.

The round-up is believed to be the largest joint operation of its kind, with arrests expected to continue for several days. Hundreds of thousands of notices were recently mailed statewide by participating entities.

Law enforcement officials are advising residents that they can avoid arrest by clearing any warrants up now. Defendants can contact the appropriate jurisdiction or jurisdictions to dispose of their cases voluntarily and avoid the inconvenience of an arrest.

"The goal of this round-up is to hold people accountable and to pay the fines that they owe to the courts, not to take people to jail," explained Collin County Constable Joe Wright in a statement released on Friday.

For those unable to pay fines now, authorities advise that they contact the courts to discuss options that may be available to resolve them after.

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