When it comes to catching up with wanted suspects, local law enforcement agencies are finding ways to chip away at their long lists of active warrants.

The Auburn Police Department has reduced its active warrants from 655 in December to 602 as of last week. Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta said the APD began updating its online warrant list, and the public's help has played a big role in reducing warrants as a result.

“We are getting more tips and we are executing more warrants,” Giannotta said. “People are seeing the warrants when we put them out there.”

While the public has helped, Giannotta said, he would ideally like to have two officers whose only job is to track down and arrest fugitives. But even though a study released by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services in February said the department needs at least three more officers, Giannotta said he understands the city is reluctant to spend more money right now.

“Ideally it would be great to have two officers who would do nothing but go out and arrest people on warrants,” Giannotta said. “We got enough warrants at this time to justify doing that. The problem is if I take two people off the streets, that's two less people to help with other calls.”

At the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, Sgt. Jeff Ross said he periodically takes some deputies off of road patrols in order to work on the 150 active warrants he usually has at any given time.

With the sheriff's office also working with a small staff, Ross said has to make sure he is not taking too many people away from the standard day-to-day calls, which means some defendants are not caught unless they happen to run into a deputy responding to an incident.

“During traffic stops or handling other types of complaints we occasionally run into people who have a warrant out for their arrest,” Ross said. “Sometimes we just don't find people. They either move out of the area or out of the state.”

When a suspect leaves the state, Ross said he still has a few resources at his disposal that can help him track defendants down.

Recently Ross said he found a man in Pennsylvania after searching that state's sex offender database and another suspect in North Carolina after she filed paperwork to receive public assistance.

Another challenge facing Auburn and Cayuga County is its location, officials said.

With Auburn located between Syracuse and Rochester, in addition to having a prison, Giannotta said the city seems to draw transients, which brings in more crime and corresponding warrants if those people run away.

“These people only live in the area one or two months then they leave,” Giannotta said. “We are not going to catch them unless they get arrested somewhere else. I think our location between Syracuse and Rochester plays into that since drugs are a big problem in our community. ... And I honestly believe the prison draws a lot of people here, too.”

While the number of outstanding warrants in Auburn is comparable to other cities of a similar size located near a prison, Giannotta said he would still like to knock a couple hundred names of the list.

But another obstacles to shortening the list of outstanding warrants is that when police remove an old one, it's usually replaced by a new warrant issued from a local court, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said.

While judges do try to set bail at a level that is both fair to the defendant while still acting as a detractor from running away, Budelmann said there is no set criteria that determines who is likely to become a fugitive.

Budelmann said he has seen people financially well off with a house and a family run.

At least eight to 10 times a year, Budelmann said, his office extradites suspects found in other states charged with local felonies back to the area to face their charges. While extraditing a suspect does use taxpayer money, Budelmann said, it is important to get closure for victims and to send a clear message to current or potential fugitives.

“It sends a message that you are not going to get away just by running,” Budelmann said. “People might say 'well the warrant is 10 years old, why pursue them,' but I don't want to reward people for running from the police for 10 years.”

Because a warrant causes the statute of limitations to freeze for as long as law enforcement puts an effort into locating an individual, Budelmann said a fugitive is forced to keep looking over his or her shoulder because the charges will never go away.

When it comes to catching people who are still living in the county, Giannotta said, the U.S. Marshals' Operation Falcon program helps local agencies get around staffing problems by supplying them with extra personnel and funding to pay for overtime.

Last year, the sheriff's office cleared 11 warrants and the APD cleared more than 30 during a Falcon operation. Both agencies said they plan to participate again this summer.

“(The U.S. Marshals) have more resources than us and they give us an extra set of eyes,” Giannotta said. “We just have local information but they can add to that. It's a great program.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net