Judge ignores 60,000 arrest warrants to avoid locking up the poor and homeless

It's proved controversial among San Francisco's police and residents

Judges have scrapped thousands of arrest warrants (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

A judge has written off more than 60,000 arrest warrants for minor offences because he said they simply meant people would go to prison for being poor.

John Stewart, presiding judge at San Francisco's Superior Court, also stopped issuing new warrants a year ago for people who failed to show up to court after being charged with offences like sleeping rough and urinating in public.

The crimes are punishable only by fines and people charged with them, who are often homeless, may not attend court because they cannot afford to pay $200 or more.

A charge of failing to attend court can land someone behind bars for five days.

Judge Stewart, who is the city's top judge, said: "You’re putting somebody in jail because they’re poor and can’t pay a fine, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We got a lot of criticism, but we thought it was the right thing to do."

He and his colleagues have scrapped some 66,000 warrants stretching back five years.

The move was criticised by the city's police union and sections of the public.

When it was announced, union boss Martin Halloran said it was "sending a message that there is no accountability for what you have done, and the laws on the books can be violated with no repercussions".

Destroying a warrant does not eliminate someone's associated criminal charge, but Judge Stewart added: "There’s no mechanism I know of to force them to pay."

Assistant presiding judge Teri Jackson said people who do attend court but cannot pay a fine are usually given alternative sentences like community service or treatment for drug dependency.