LINDON -- There is an epidemic in Utah County.

A couple of years ago, the number of outstanding warrants for arrests in the county was in the hundreds. Now, it's in the thousands.

Sgt. Jeff Jones believes the economy has contributed to the 600 percent increase he's seen in the last 12 months of people who do not pay their traffic fines or other citations.

"That means they didn't pay a citation. It could be something as simple as a speeding ticket or a DUI, a marijuana charge, any traffic offense, minor assault," Jones said. "This is going to grow into a fairly huge animal if we don't do something with it."

On Tuesday, the Lindon City Council gave its police chief the nod to team up with the U.S. Marshals Service in Utah's Joint Criminal Apprehension Team, to catch those who evade the justice system.

"We're doing this every day. Now it will just be more often," Chief Cody Cullimore told the council.

Wednesday, JCAT arrested a man with three outstanding warrants and took him to jail. In January alone, JCAT members collected $143,000 and arrested 21 felons. Still, there are 5,000 outstanding justice court warrants from justice courts in Utah County.

"It could be your neighbor, just somebody who either forgot to pay a speeding ticket or couldn't pay a speeding ticket," Jones said.

There are also those who are violent felons. JCAT officers mainly investigate warrants for crimes against persons, such as such as rape, assault, and murder, according to Jim Thompson, chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service in Utah.

"There are so many outstanding warrants that we have to prioritize them," Thompson said.

Nationally, task forces led by the Marshals caught more than 73,000 state and local fugitives in fiscal year 2008, according to an agency fact sheet. In 2008, JCAT cleared 2,647 federal, state and local warrants and arrested 1,948 Utah and federal fugitives, including 35 homicide suspects and 138 sex offenders, according to the draft report provided by Thompson. More than 88 percent of the arrests involved warrants issued by state and local courts.

Because of the rapid rise in outstanding warrants, JCAT is seeking help from other agencies. The organization began in the Wasatch Front area in 2001 and has since expanded to 34 participating agencies statewide. Utah County agencies on the team include the Utah County Sheriff's Office, Adult Probation and Parole Region 4 and 6, Lindon, Payson, Nephi, Pleasant Grove and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"This is the future," Jones said. "We're going to have to collect on citations and charges because we are just not getting paid."

Lindon may not have much violent crime of its own, but its proximity to Interstate 15 and larger municipalities may mean that offenders travel through the city from time to time, Cullimore said.

Being prepared for situations outside the norm was of great importance to the police chief and City Council members.

"Our officers will be able to train with other agencies that have more experience," Cullimore said.

Two Lindon police officers began training with JCAT about two weeks ago in anticipation of the council's approval, he said.

JCAT is a federally-funded program authorized under Section 6 of the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000, according to the Memorandum of Understanding approved by the City Council. Funding comes from a U.S. Department of Justice cache generated through seizures and forfeitures related to criminal activity, Thompson said. The funds are shared by task forces throughout the nation.

"There are always going to be criminals and we're always going to be catching them. The money goes back into the pot," Thompson said.

The federal agency and participating agencies like Lindon donate manpower and the use of related equipment to the team, Cullimore said.

Assigned officers become deputized Marshals. Utah peace officers have jurisdiction throughout the state, but as deputized Marshals their authority extends state-to-state, Thompson said.

Lindon's top cop said the city's participation on the team will not negatively impact the budget or service to residents.

"There is no downside for Lindon. The bad guys get caught and our officers get valuable training," Cullimore said.

Under the agreement, the Marshals Service will reimburse the city for overtime up to about $15,500 annually per participating officer, he said.

Last year, the program even reimbursed for gasoline due to the sharp increase in prices, Thompson said.

Plus, while JCAT's directive is to find violent criminals who have state or federal warrants, the team can enforce any warrant, including those from the city's municipal court, Cullimore said.

"That actually guarantees some income," he said.

But the main objective is public safety, not revenue, Cullimore said.

"I don't want to give the impression that these guys are bounty hunters. I've talked to our court and we understand that these are hard economic times," Cullimore said.