INDIANAPOLIS -- If you owe child support, or if you have an outstanding warrant, public safety officials want to hear from you.
City-County Councilor Stephen Clay has helped launch an initiative called “Operation Safe Surrender.”
On April 14 through April 16, hundreds of volunteers from public safety and criminal justice agencies will gather at Messiah Missionary Baptist Church.
They’re asking anyone with an outstanding level 6 felony warrant, misdemeanor or child support warrant to come and surrender.
PHOTOS | Indiana's Most Wanted Child Support Evaders
The warrant will be recalled, and individuals will be given a new court date to appear within the next few weeks.
The Marion County clerk’s office will also be on hand to collect child support payments.
“Operation Safe Surrender is an effort to help those with lower-level offenses to find the help they need to get back on the right track without the potential for additional violence or more charges being added,” said Clay, who also serves as the senior pastor for Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, where Operation Safe Surrender will take place. “We wanted a neutral area away from the courts and jail, so that these citizens feel a greater sense of safety in taking this voluntary step. We’ve seen way too many instances lately where arrestees and/or law enforcement personnel have been injured or killed while serving an arrest warrant.”
Call 6 Investigates has exposed the problem of unpaid child support in recent years, including the impact to taxpayers when parents fail to pay.
CALL 6 | Call 6 investigation examines whether Indiana child support system works | Deadbeat dad speaks from prison about unpaid child support | Child support $2-3 billion problem in Indiana, DCS says
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office Child Support division currently has 55,850 open cases.
In 2015, the office collected more than $100 million for Marion County families.
“We issued 1,510 warrants in 2015, and 368 have been issued to date for 2016,” according to Peg McCleish, spokesperson for the Marion County Prosecutor’s office.
The Marion County Circuit Court Paternity Division currently has 807 warrants.
Clay told Call 6 Investigates they are hoping for a “significant” number of people to come forward.
DETAILS:
Messiah Missionary Baptist Church, 5640 East 38th Street, Indianapolis, 46218, on Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
-----
Sign up to have the latest news headlines delivered straight to your email inbox
