The comptroller’s office would be able to withhold tax refunds from individuals who have outstanding arrest warrants throughout the state, under a pair of Maryland bills designed to provide criminal suspects with a financial incentive to turn themselves in.
At a noon press conference and a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Tuesday, State Comptroller Peter Franchot, legislators and law enforcement officials spoke in favor of the Tax Refund-Warrant Intercept Program. The program is a way to reward law-abiding citizens and diminish the potential risk police officers may face, supporters said.
Under the program, the comptroller’s office mails a letter to those with outstanding warrants, informing them of an opportunity to turn themselves in to law enforcement. Similar plans are operating in Anne Arundel and Washington counties, Franchot said.
Those named in a warrant can come in under safe and controlled conditions, affording them the opportunity to arrange for bail, find an attorney and avoid public embarrassment, Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman said.
“In my 37 years of law enforcement, I see this as the most efficient and effective way to serve an arrest warrant bar none,” Bateman said at the press conference. “This offers levels of safety that don’t exist today.”
The comptroller’s office estimates there are roughly 200,000 outstanding warrants in the state, and 133,000 of these are in counties not participating in the program, according to a legislative analysis.
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