The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office created the Fugitive Division in 1978 to handle the service of criminal warrants. This division has (1) sergeant and consists of (10) investigators, (3) full-time clerks, and (5) part-time employees.

The Fugitive Division maintains all of the warrants issued from Hamilton County General Sessions Court, Criminal Court, Tennessee State Parole and the Child support court. This office also maintains warrants issued by other jurisdictions (other counties and states) for suspects who may be residing in Hamilton County. At the present time there are more than thirty thousand active warrants on file. The fugitive Office also has the responsibility of serving mental commitment orders issued by the courts.

The primary responsibility of this office is the service of all criminal arrest warrants and summons by arrest. All issued warrants are entered and maintained into a local wanted person database. There are more than five hundred new warrants issued and entered into the data base each week. This office is also responsible for the extradition and transportation of defendants who are in custody in other jurisdictions.

With the required transportation of many defendants from out of state facilities the division has created a transport team that consists of four part time deputies from the Sheriff’s Office. This team has allowed the full time detectives to continue working to serve locally issued arrest warrants.

The Sex Offender Registry office was added to the Fugitive Division in 2007. This office maintains records of home addresses, places of employment and the current status of more than 600 sex offenders.

In 2007 the Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Division began its Twelve Most Wanted website. So far more than 100 violent offenders have been arrested since the list began.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HAMILTON COUNTY’S 12 MOST WANTED

In October 2007 the Fugitive Division organized the largest Round Up ever conducted in the State of Tennessee, up to that point. More than twenty local, county, state and federal agencies participated, resulting in the arrests of more than 200 fugitives in two days.

As this branch of the Sheriff’s Office continues in growth, the needs of Hamilton County communities are sure to be met.

Fugitive/Criminal Warrants Division
601 Walnut Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone: (423) 209-7140
Fax: (423) 209-7141

Fugitive Division Contact Information

Sex Offender Contact Information