Fugitive Safe Surrender
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Akron, Ohio
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Camden, New Jersey
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Cleveland, Ohio
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Columbia, South Carolina
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Detroit, Michigan
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Indianapolis, Indiana
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Memphis, Tennessee
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Nashville, Tennessee
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Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
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Phoenix,
Arizona
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Rochester, New York
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Washington D.C.
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Future Expansion
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Memphis, Tennessee –
September 19 - 22, 2007
Fugitive Safe Surrender in the
Memphis/Shelby County area took place in mid-September 2007, under the
leadership of David G. Jolley, United States Marshal for the Western
District of Tennessee. The four-day operation resulted in the voluntary
surrender of
1,581 individuals, making it the most successful of the Marshals
Service’s six Fugitive Safe Surrender programs.
Dr.
Frank E. Ray, Sr., Senior Pastor of the New Salem Missionary Baptist
Church in Memphis, agreed to serve as the faith-based leader of Fugitive
Safe Surrender and to host the surrender days at his church. Pastor Ray
recruited dozens of volunteers from his church and the community at
large to assist with FSS functions during the four-day surrender period.
The turn-out exceeded all expectations, with more than 600 individuals
presenting themselves on the final day.
Fugitive Safe Surrender would not have been possible without the
participation and support of the Shelby County General Sessions Court,
the Shelby County Criminal Court, and U.S. District Court judges. Other
key community leaders and criminal justice participants included Shelby
County Mayor AC Wharton, Jr., Memphis and Shelby County District
Attorney William L. Gibbons, Shelby County Public Defender Robert W.
Jones, U.S. Attorney David W. Kustoff, Shelby County Sheriff Mark
Luttrell, the Memphis Police Department; and the Tennessee Board of
Probation and Parole.
Preliminary results of Fugitive Safe
Surrender indicate that of the 1,581 individuals who surrendered in
Memphis, 211 of them were wanted for felony crimes. The majority of the
felony fugitives who surrendered were wanted in connection with
non-violent crimes; however, some were wanted for more serious offenses.
Those with non-violent warrants were given bond, assigned new court
dates, and released directly from the church, while only 45 individuals
who were wanted for more violent crimes – or those with violent records
– were taken into custody.
The success of the program was praised by
Sheriff Luttrell, who announced the results following the conclusion of
the operation. “We appreciate the partnership of Pastor Frank Ray of New
Salem Missionary Baptist Church and the hundreds of volunteers from New
Salem and other churches throughout Memphis and Shelby County who
assisted fugitives and their families during this four-day event.”
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