Fugitive Safe Surrender
Past Safe Surrender Initiatives:
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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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Washington, D.C. – November 1-3, 2007
Fugitive Safe Surrender in the District of Columbia took place in
early November 2007, under the coordinated leadership of Steve Conboy,
United States Marshal for the District of Columbia Superior Court, and
Paul Quander, Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision
Agency of the District of Columbia (CSOSA). The three-day operation
resulted in the arrest of 530 individuals, bringing the total number of
surrenders during the Marshals Service’s seven Fugitive Safe Surrender
programs to almost 6,500.
Apostle James Silver of the Bible Way Church in Washington, D.C., agreed
to serve as the faith-based leader of Fugitive Safe Surrender – DC and
to host the surrender days at his church. Apostle Silver recruited
volunteers from his church and the community at large to assist with FSS
functions during the three-day surrender period.
Fugitive Safe Surrender - DC would not have been possible without the
partnership and full participation of the Superior Court for the
District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia, the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating
Council, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the
Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, the
District of Columbia Public Defender Service, the District of Columbia
Pretrial Services Agency, the U.S. Parole Commission, the District of
Columbia Department of Corrections, and the District of Columbia
Metropolitan Police Department.
Preliminary results of Fugitive Safe Surrender - DC indicated that of
the 530 individuals who surrendered, 53 of them were wanted for felony
crimes. Fewer than three percent of those presenting themselves were
arrested and 64 individuals who arrived at the church found that they
had no active warrant at all.
The first to surrender was Willie Jones, who was wanted on a warrant for
distribution of heroin. Like many of the participants in Fugitive Safe
Surrender nationwide, Mr. Jones was tired of looking over his shoulder,
and frustrated with his inability to find work or drive a car without
worry of arrest. After going through the process, he emerged from the
church 40 minutes later with a personal bond and his warrant dismissed.
Mr. Jones spoke highly of the program and the second chance it provided
him. He also encouraged others to take the step. “It’s a very good
program; trust it and walk on in,” he said. Marshal Conboy commended Mr.
Jones and the hundreds like him who participated in the program, noting
that “this is the way to extend the olive branch to foster trust in the
community, and ask folks to do the right thing. It doesn’t have to be
difficult, and it doesn’t have to be dangerous.”
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