On TV crime shows, it all seems to happen within minutes: The warrant is issued, and the accused is picked up.

Reality paints another, fairly bleak picture. Nationally and in Hawai'i, the backlog in serving bench warrants is a persistent problem.

The state Judiciary is trying to bring 21st-century efficiency to the process, and hopes that in January a computerized database will become accessible statewide, enabling warrants to be served quickly.

In the meantime, though, the consequences of having a vastly outdated system becomes apparent. For example: Warrants issued for Kelii Acasia and RJ Ham, defendants in separate cases, had not been served at the time they allegedly committed two killings.

Nobody can say what might have happened had they been picked up sooner, but clearly those wanted for crimes are able to commit offenses for as long as they're free. Bench warrants, on felonies in particular, should be served as quickly as possible.

That is already a tough challenge, with the process servers — police and sheriffs' personnel — overbooked. And with an increase in warrants through a probation program called Project HOPE (Hawai'i's Opportunity for Probation with Enforcement) there's heightened demand for prompt warrant service.

The whole idea of that program is that those on HOPE probation are warned against violating terms of their release, and if they slip up, even once, they will be picked up and get immediate jail time.

So far, the results of the project look promising, according to initial figures released by the state. This swift-punishment approach has reduced drug-test violations by 86 percent, on average, and if offenders are motivated to stay out of jail, they are less likely to be rearrested on new charges. The long-range result may be less strain on the system, not more.

For the short term, however, the public needs assurance that process servers can keep up. Police and sheriffs have promised to give priority to Project HOPE and the most serious warrants. But law-enforcement agencies and the courts should analyze how much additional staffing or other improvements they need to get the process working.

Every needless delay to that improvement adds risk to public safety, and that can't be tolerated any longer.