If you’ve played Monopoly, you’re familiar with the Get Out of Jail free card. In real life, there’s no such thing. If you live in Bradley County, though, and have an outstanding warrant for nonpayment of fines and costs associated with a misdemeanor violation, you can avoid time behind bars by taking advantage of amnesty week, which begins Monday. Participation is not free, but it can be beneficial to both individuals and to government.
The amnesty is designed to help those who have “failed to fulfill a financial obligation” to the county, according to Rich Kienlin, county misdemeanor probations director. Failure to pay a fine and costs puts in motion a process that can lead to arrest, jail time and additional fines and costs. A chat with a probation parole officer or a call to the county’s Justice Center next week to make arrangement for payment can halt that inexorable chain of events.
The week, officials say, is designed to clear a backlog of about 1,500 active cases in which warrants have been issued but not served to arrest a person in arrears. During amnesty week, those individuals can pay their fines and costs without additional penalty. Kienlin says county officials are willing to help those who want to pay their fines but face financial hardship in doing so.
“We’ll work with them in any way we can,” he said. “There is going to be a requirement for some kind of payment, but we’ll work with individuals” to set up a payment plan. Such a program – rare in the region – is welcome.
It allows individuals to avoid the embarrassment of arrest and the costs associated with posting bail and increased fines and costs. Clearly, it is to an individual’s advantage to participate in the amnesty – limited to misdemeanor violations; it does not include felony crimes – and to set up a payment schedule that will eliminate the need for additional judicial action.