It is called Operation Summer Slam and the goal in Tampa today was to track down 600 people with warrants for their arrest for anything from failure to appear to traffic violations to felony warrants. The operation was a joint venture by three different law enforcement agencies and was executed today all over Tampa. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs, Temple Terrace Police and Tampa Police joined forces to make 40 arrests before noon.
According to TampaBay.com most of the warrants were for misdemeanors but there were also some felony warrants. According to one officer many of the warrants he was serving stemmed from traffic citations in Sulphur Springs.
The operation was deliberately planned right as county schools let out for summer break. Tampa Police say they often see a spike in criminal activity at this time of the year. The operation was meant to not only track down Tampa residents with outstanding warrants but to also send a strong message.
The problem the law enforcement agencies encountered with trying to serve the arrest warrants in Tampa was that many of the addresses that law enforcement had were no longer valid making it tough to track down the violators. The operation which is scheduled to run through Wednesday night at 11:00 p.m. is not the only area of enforcement that the agencies are ratcheting up. According to the story on-line there will also be increased enforcement of DUI and drug crimes most likely resulting in more drug possession charges and arrests for drunk driving.
There was no further information on the number of arrests made later in the day but with more than 30 hours still remaining, that number could easily top 100. The arrestees are being taken to a holding area at Copeland Park.
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