x
Breaking News
More () »

People with warrants get a fresh start with Operation Safe Surrender

YORK, Pa. — Hundreds of people with outstanding warrants in York County turned themselves in Thursday. However, they didn’t do it at a county courth...

YORK, Pa. -- Hundreds of people with outstanding warrants in York County turned themselves in Thursday. However, they didn't do it at a county courthouse, but a local church.

There are nearly 40,000 outstanding warrants in York County needing to be resolved.

Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene stands in the shadow of the old York County Prison in York City.

Thursday, the focus at Stillmeadow Church was on helping people avoid a prison stay in their future by taking care of warrants from their past.

People from all walks of life showed up at the church, with hopes of wiping out their warrants, and starting over with a clean slate.

Sean Harrison said "it's good to know that you're not alone, and it's great to see everybody out here, trying to get their lives back on track and do the right thing, and take care of their warrants, and their mishaps."

LifePath Christian Ministries CEO Matthew Carey said "if you take an individual into a courthouse, their demeanor is one of being tight and worried. Here, it's a lot less threatening. It's a church building, the environment is a lot more casual."

It's a joint effort between the York County Sheriff's Office and LifePath Christian Ministries called 'Operation Safe Surrender.'

York County Sheriff Richard Keuerleber said "33,000 magisterial warrants ,and we got about 6,000 common pleas warrants, so this will help get warrants cleared up, but more importantly, we want to get people's lives cleared up."

"When they come in here, they're afraid. They're worried about getting incarcerated, but more importantly, the thing is they might be missing pieces in their life like mental health, assistance, job training, life skill development," Carey said.

"We had as far as from Boston and Florida. A guy actually came in on a bus, a greyhound bus last night to turn himself in to do the right thing," Keuerleber said.

It's also why Carey helps people like Harrison, who came to clear his warrants, deal with the past and face a brighter future.

"He came and dealt with his situations. He came and gave me a hug, and he said 'thank you so much.' He's back out doing what he needs to do," Carey said.

"It's a constant headache, looking over your shoulder, not knowing if today's the day you're going to leave your family. So, coming here today and taking care of this is a blessing," Harrison said.

From the looks on people's faces, Operation Safe Surrender appears to be a success.

"They came in debt with their judicial issues, now we're saying to them, what do you need to continue to better your life, 'is it job, is it training,'"Carey said.

"It feels great to be able to go out and be a citizen the right way, and a second chance," Harrison said.

Operation Safe Surrender will take off place again at Stillmeadow Church, 8am until 3pm on Friday.

Sheriff Keuerleber said anyone who has outstanding warrants and misses the event, can still turn themselves in to the Sheriff's Office.

"It's never too late to start over," Keuerleber said.

Before You Leave, Check This Out