Kelowna cops capture copious crooks

KELOWNA – They called it The Warrant Team Project; a dedicated team of RCMP officers whose only job was to execute warrants and put bad guys behind bars. Almost 200 are cooling their heels or making their way through the justice system as a result.

RCMP say during a 6-week period from mid-October to the end of November, the officers executed 296 arrest warrants. During the same period last year, only 197 outstanding warrants for dates with the judge were chased down.

“These types of projects have value for us as they facilitate getting charged persons back into court and move the process forward,” Kelowna’s top cop Supt. Nick Romanchuk says in a media release.

The Warrant Team was also give leeway to range outside the Kelowna detachment’s boundaries from Peachland to Oyama.

“By allowing our officers some level of mobility across jurisdictions, we were able to track down more wanted persons than would've been possible otherwise,” Romanchuk.

Once the dust cleared and the project was over, only 73 outstanding Provincial Court warrants were left.

Romanchuk thinks the criminals got the message.

“You cannot escape prosecution by avoiding your court dates.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.