JACKSON, Tenn. (AP) — The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has cleared thousands of warrants from its computer system, some dating back about 40 years.

Sheriff John Mehr tells the Jackson Sun that there were more than 6,000 warrants in the computer system last year, when he hired a part-time employee to sort the unserved papers.

Mehr says about 1,500 warrants remain in the system to be served. He says thousands were cleared because they were out of date or applied to people who were dead or had moved out of the state. For those who have moved out of state, their local departments are contacted.

Mehr, who took office in September 2014, says cleaning out the outstanding warrants has made his office more efficient.

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