SUNBURY – Modern day ‘wanted posters’ will soon be going up on Facebook, and on billboards. Northumberland County is planning to use both Facebook and billboards to try to catch wanted people. Northumberland County Prothonotary Justin Dunkelberger says the collaborative effort between the prothonotary’s office, the sheriff’s office and the probation department was approved on Thursday by the county cost collection task force.
Dunkelberger said, “The plan is to utilize Facebook and strategically placed roadside billboards to inform the public of persons who are sought with open warrants for their arrest. We have over 700 open warrants and a range of items from bench warrants for cost collections to domestic warrants to criminal warrants.”
Dunkelberger says this is something being done in a number of other areas, “There are currently 31 different sheriff’s offices around the state doing this with Facebook, Montour County being the closest. In discussions with their sheriff, they have had tremendous results in a short period of time. They went live with it about two weeks ago.”
The county will start by leasing two billboards for $750 a year, “Economically speaking, these are not expensive strategies to employ. The sheriff’s office and my office will be sharing a staff member to update the Facebook page pretty much daily with any new warrants or any people that would come in and pay. And then as far as the billboard, I kind of spearheaded that with probation assisting me.”
Where will the billboards be located? Dunkelberger said, “The first one is outside of Shamokin on Route 901. And the other will be on the Natalie Mountain outside of Mount Carmel. Then we are waiting on other billboards to free up in the Sunbury, Milton and Watsontown areas. So if this works where we have access now, we look to employ this in greater numbers in the future.”
Dunkelberger says they hope to start posting names and photos of individuals on June 1. (Ali Stevens)