THUNDER BAY – City police say with more than 1,700 people living in Thunder Bay with outstanding warrants, it’s time to do something about it.
As first reported last month, Thunder Bay Police Service in two weeks will launch its Wanted Wednesday program to locate individuals sought on bench warrants or first warrants.
The former is usually someone who failed to show up for a court dates or has breached a condition of their release. The latter includes people police would like to locate and charge with a criminal incident.
“Many individuals wanted by police will go to great length and have supports in place to assist with evading the police," police spokeswoman Const. Julie Tilbury said in a release issued on Wednesday.
"Locating these individuals is very resource intensive. Assistance from the media, social media and from the public could greatly assist with apprehension of these individuals."
“The Wanted Wednesday Program is an investigative tool where on a weekly basis personal information including images of wanted adults is released to media sources in hopes to locate individuals and bring them before the courts to have the matter dealt with.
“Police will be focusing on individuals who have warrants for violent offences, are repeat offenders or believed to be criminally active.
Photos of each Wanted Wednesday suspect will be provided to local media outlets and posted through TBPS’s official social media channels, along with pertinent information detailing why the person is being sought.
The police department announced the program last month on Facebook, saying they wanted to give individuals who might be featured a chance to turn themselves in.
“Individuals with outstanding warrants are encourgaed to attend the Balmoral Police Station before Feb. 1, to deal with their warrants prior to this program starting,” Tilbury said.
The public is encouraged to contact the police at 684-1200 with information on any of the individuals posted on the Wanted Wednesday page. Individuals who wish to remain anonymous are recommended to contact crime stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.tipsubmit.com.
