Deputy U.S. Marshals
have received worldwide praise for their skills in locating and
arresting wanted criminals, but the assistance they receive from
their colleagues at the local, state and federal levels often
completes their ability to capture the worst of the worst.
The U.S. Marshals have embraced such productive interagency
teamwork with other law enforcement officers at every level of
government for many years. The results of FALCON 2008 are
reflective of this established interagency teamwork. |
FALCON 2008 |
Updated July 16, 2008
“This
was indeed a unified national effort with a local focus.
By using our authority to swear-in local law enforcement
officers as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals, we were able
to navigate the jurisdictional barriers criminals often
hide behind. In short, we leveled the playing field.
"We
could say June was not only the beginning of summer but
it was the hottest month on record for those who have
chosen to run from the law, leaving victims in their
wake.
"I
want to emphasize that the fugitives arrested were among
the most dangerous, and in many instances had been
identified by local police and sheriff’s departments as
their “Most Wanted.”
"Local communities are safer today because of the hard
working men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service and
our partner law enforcement agencies. When one thinks of
homeland security, we cannot ignore the threat that
comes from violent offenders who plague our communities.”
-- U.S.
Marshals Service Director John F. Clark |
In June 2008, the U.S. Marshals
teamed with its partners from federal, state, and local law
enforcement to engage in the record-breaking Operation FALCON
2008 (Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally). This
initiative represented the fifth effort in a continuing series
of historically successful national fugitive apprehension
missions, which have resulted in the collective capture of more
than 55,800 dangerous fugitive felons.
For Operation FALCON 2008, FALCON
returned to its roots as a nationwide fugitive apprehension
initiative with a slight alteration to the original FALCON
concept.
Instead of a single, intensive week of operations
across the nation, participating U.S. Marshal District Offices and Regional Task
Forces chose a week in June 2008 to coordinate the best
operational schedule, allowing optimal participation by local,
county, state and federal law enforcement partners.
The U. S.
Marshals, assisted by federal, state and local law enforcement,
arrested 19,380 fugitives and cleared 25,087
warrants as part of Operation FALCON 2008. Collectively, the
fugitives arrested during the operation have a history of nearly
94,000 prior arrests.
For more information,
refer to the original - FALCON I
Operation, the FALCON II,
FALCON III, and FALCON 2007.
The targets for the 2008
operation were violent offenders, gang members and sex offenders.
Operation FALCON 2008 is a component of the U.S. Marshals
Service's Violent Crime Reduction Strategy.
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