I feel good today

I am pleased with myself today.  I actually finished several tasks at work, mainly involving warrants.

I have a love/hate relationship with warrants, much like my relationship with math, and for some of the same reasons.

Anyway, warrants, when they come down fro the court, are entered into the nationwide law enforcement computer system.  Some warrants are only extraditable (enforceable) in the state where they are issued or portions thereof and some are good in all 50 states.

When someone is arrested on one of our warrants, if it is outside of our county, we confirm the warrant by teletype, thus placing a hold on that person.  In some instances a bond has been set and in some instances, depending on the severity and frequency of the crime, the person arrested is to be held without bond.

We then wait to hear from the arresting agency.  If there are local charges pending, those charges must be dispensed with before we can take custody of the subject.  If there is a bond amount set, it is possible for the person to post bond wherever he was arrested and secure his release thusly.  If the person is to be held without bond, he cannot secure his release.

When a person has satisfied local charges and cannot post bond, we are notified by the arresting agency via teletype after which, as a rule, we have 10 days to go and get him.

When a person secures their release by posting bond, the arresting agency should send a teletype stating that the person has posted bond, the amount and whether cash or through a bail bond company.

This last step often gets forgotten.  Either the jailers forget to ask or the dispatchers forget to send it.

The drawer which holds our warrants that have been served elsewhere held about 50 warrants earlier today.  I sent teletypes to the arresting agency for each warrant requesting the disposition of the arrestee and the warrant.  I have done this before and it is often akin to throwing a message in a bottle into the ebbing tide.

Today?

Today, I actually got responses on 17 different warrants.  That is 17 warrants that are on their way out of my office and on to the next step in the process.

I realize this is not all that earth-shattering.  I did not reinvent the wheel nor did I find a cure for cancer.

I did, however, complete something.

My job is such that I rarely get to see anything to completion.  I take calls, I dispatch deputies and the system does it's job.  I rarely get to see the finish.

Today, I did.  And it feels good.