Last week, the Bremen Police Department announced that Feb. 1 will kick off their first-ever amnesty month.

“We have had input from other departments and saw their results,” Court Clerk and amnesty organizer Deanne Worthy said. She said she was inspired to start the program after hearing about the success in Villa Rica and other local areas. She hopes it will prove to be successful in Bremen and wants to continue the program in the future.

Amnesty is defined as an undertaking by the authorities to take no action against specified offenses or offenders during a fixed period. The month will allow citizens who have incurred fees for failure to appear in traffic court, warrant fees and late fees for unpaid tickets to pay those tickets without having to pay the excess fees to the city. The amnesty will only pertain to tickets written by the Bremen Police Department.

“We feel that this will clear court dockets and generate funds,” Chief Keith Pesnell said.

After the month is over, the department will begin notifying individuals who do not take advantage of the amnesty program by executing outstanding warrants at homes and businesses.

When a citation for a traffic violation goes unpaid, according to Worthy, the Georgia Department of Driver Services is notified within two to four weeks, after that the driver is notified and given two weeks to pay the ticket or have their license suspended.

“We cannot waive the suspended license fee from Driver Services, but we can waive our fee, which will help them cover the cost of getting their license reinstated,” Worthy said.

One of the reasons for implementing Amnesty Month was to allow drivers time to “catch up.”

“This will help those who may have gotten behind and were unable to pay and feel like they cannot get out from under it,” Pesnell said. “The main reason for doing this is to help.”

The base price for citations for traffic violations begins at $110, and late fees can be anywhere from $100 to $200 based on the violation.

Like any other department, Bremen has a number of outstanding tickets, according to Pesnell. He called the amount owed his department “significant.”

Tickets can be paid at the Bremen Police Department. The department accepts cash, cashier’s checks and money orders.

“All they have to do is come in and tell us they want to pay their ticket,” Pesnell said.

Payments can be made via credit or debit card by calling 1-800-701-8560.