History - Fugitive Investigative Strike Teams
(FIST)
In the 1980's the U.S. Marshals Service inaugurated the use Fugitive
Investigative Strike Teams, referred as FIST operations, to capture
violent fugitives that were wanted by Federal and local law enforcement
agencies.
The goal of a FIST operation was to locate and arrest a large number of
fugitives in a particular region, within a relatively brief period, by
focusing the resources of local, state, and Federal law enforcement
agencies. Non-federal officers were specially deputized by the Marshals
Service enabling them to cross city, county, and state boundaries with
full arrest powers.
Deputy U.S. Marshal displays cocaine that was found
hidden in a truck load of onions. The drugs were seized as part of
the FIST IX operation.
When the Attorney General transferred responsibility for the
investigation of certain Federal fugitives from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to the Marshals
Service in October 1979, fugitive operations began to come
alive throughout the Service.
As a result, 105 Deputies were
selected for advanced training as Enforcement Specialists
dedicated to overseeing the investigation and apprehension of
Federal fugitives within their respective Districts and nationwide.
Subsequently the Marshals Service developed the Fugitive Investigative
Strike Team (FIST) concept. This method was designed to
augment the resources of District fugitive squads experiencing an
increased case load, and to focus efforts on areas where intelligence
indicates the existence of a significant number of fugitives from
justice.
FIST utilized a team of investigators which could be quickly
mobilized to respond to any District in the country. Its objectives
are to reduce the case backlog and apprehend as many fugitives as
possible within the target District in the shortest possible time.
The
effort focused on U.S. Marshals Service "Class 1" violators -
escaped federal prisoners, bail jumpers, parole violators and probation
violators.
Part of the unprecedented challenge
and change which the Marshals Service
encountered during the early 1980's was the ability to respond to the
Administration's demand for a step up
in law enforcement. A portion of the
Service's response to this challenge was the development of the
Fugitive Investigative Strike Team
(FIST) concept.
Law Enforcement Agencies at press conference for FIST
VIII
The first FIST operation was
designed as a pilot project to focus on
fugitive felons. The objectives were to
reduce case backlogs and to apprehend
as many fugitives as possible within
the largest District in the shortest possible
time, yet remain cost effective.
On October 6, 1981, FIST I began
in the Southern District of Florida (Miami).
The large volume of drug trafficking
and violence-related crimes
concentrated in that area indicated
that Miami was the city most
urgently in need of FIST.
After five weeks the operation concluded with the arrest of 76 fugitive
felons. An analysis showed that 55 percent
of the fugitives arrested had a criminal
history involving narcotics. Prior
arrests of these 76 fugitives totaled
491 criminal incidents, or an average
of six previous crimes per arrestee. The success of FIST I prompted the
Department of Justice and the Marshals
Service to continue this type of
operation in another location. FIST II was conducted in Los
Angeles, California from early December
1981 to early February 1982. This
nine-week investigative effort resulted
in the arrest of 102 fugitive felons and
included the clearing of 35 state and
local fugitive cases in the Los Angeles
area.
Marshals Service analysis showed
28 percent of the arrestees had
previously been involved in narcotics
trafficking. The other arrestees had
criminal records for other offenses
which included homicide, bank robbery,
kidnapping, assault, armed robbery,
alien smuggling and counterfeiting.
The combined history of these
arrestees totaled 865 prior felony
arrests.
At the conclusion of FIST II, the
Marshals Service examined the feasibility
of a FIST operation involving
state and local law enforcement
authorities. Many fugitives sought by
the Marshals Service are also sought
by state and local authorities for other
crimes. The success of FIST I and II
was due, in a large part, to the cooperation
and involvement of state and local
law enforcement officers.
The operation of FIST III was conducted
in the multi-judicial District
New York City metropolitan area,
starting April 13, 1982 and continuing
for ten weeks. FIST III incorporated
the active participation of the New
York City Police Department.
Using
an abandoned warehouse on the East
River as its headquarters, Marshals and
NYPD investigators arrested 303
fugitive felons. Prior offenses of these
arrestees totaled over 3,000.
FIST IV focused on fugitives in the Washington, D.C. area. The operation, which was conducted
jointly by the United States Marshals Service and the District of
Columbia Metropolitan Police Department between September 7 through
November 18, 1982.
This FIST operation was also composed of 29 representatives of the
Special Operations Division of the Maryland Police and an equal number
of Marshals Service investigators from around the nation. FIST IV
concluded with a total of 614 actual arrests and 772 warrants cleared.
The participation of state and local
governments was expanded for FIST V
in mid 1983 during a ten-week operation
throughout Michigan. During this
FIST, combined teams of federal, state
and local investigators cleared 1,156
felony warrants, 928 by actual physical
arrest.
FIST VI
culminated a unique effort which
concentrated on arresting fugitives throughout the State of California.
The conclusion of the ten-week operation, which resulted in 2,116
arrests. Of those arrested 79 percent had been involved in crimes
of violence or drug offenses and a total of 2,689 cases were closed as a
result of the arrests. The operation utilized the resources of more than
20 California state and local law enforcement agencies which made up
half of the 120- member FIST VI group.
The conclusion of FIST VII was
announced by the Attorney General
on November 20, 1984 before national
and international media representatives
in a press conference at the Plaza
Hotel in New York City. He termed FIST VII "the largest and most
successful
fugitive manhunt in law
enforcement history." The operation
was conducted throughout eight eastern
states over an eight-week period and
resulted in the arrest of 3,309 fugitive
felons. The operation was a result of the
combined efforts of 49 state and local
law enforcement agencies under the coordination
of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The FIST VII task force was made up
of 1 13 Marshals Service personnel,
five agents from the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and
107 state and local law enforcement
officers from Connecticut, Delaware,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode
Island. The apprehended fugitives had
a composite criminal history of 12,440
felonies, with a per fugitive average of
nearly four known prior arrests and
convictions.
Commenting on the conclusion of
the record-breaking FIST VII operation,
Former Marshals Service Director Stanley
E. Morris said, "Fugitives are a major
contribution to the high crime rate in
this country, as they typically commit
additional crimes in order to remain
fugitives from justice. Many state and
local law enforcement agencies are
unable to actively seek fugitives
simply due to a lack of resources.
During
this FIST operation, 95 percent
were arrested on state or local warrants.
Through FIST operations we are bringing about an awareness of this
serious problem. By combining
federal, state and local law enforcement
officers, a FIST team can free
manpower to concentrate exclusively
on the apprehension and arrest of
fugitives."
As in previous operations, FIST
VII utilized "scams" to apprehend a
number of fugitives. These included a
package-delivery scam under the identification
of the "Brooklyn Bridge
Delivery Service," job offers from
"Prior Offendors Employment Opportunities,"
and one in which younger
fugitives were attracted by a "Prize
Offer" of free tickets to a rock concert,
complete with dinner for two and the
use of a limousine for the evening.
The continued overwhelming success
and highly professional execution
of the first seven FIST operations was
obvious not only from the more than
7,000 fugitives arrested, but also from
the continued record of no subjects or
law enforcement officers being seriously
injured or killed in any of the
operations. William French Smith,
former Attorney General, praised the
efforts of all involved in the FIST VII
operation when he stated, "This successful
operation demonstrates our
unwillingness to allow fugitives from
justice to remain outside the system
where they may, and do, prey upon
innocent Americans. Fugitives must be
arrested and returned to the point in
the system from which they fled.
Then, and only then, can justice be
done." The United States Marshals Service,
38 Florida law enforcement agencies
and 12 foreign countries
captured 3,816
fugitives in the eighth FIST operation in the spring of 1985.
Law enforcement personnel based in
Miami, with teams set up in Pompano
Beach, Tampa, Tallahassee, Orlando,
and Jacksonville, nabbed 48 accused or
convicted murderers, 20 kidnappers,
61 rapists, 167 robbers and 593 major
narcotics traffickers. Forty-eight
weapons were seized, including handguns,
shotguns, rifles and machine guns.
The Caribbean command site was
located in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands, with Marshals Service personnel
operating in Antigua, Anguilla,
Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands,
CuracadAruba, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique,
and Puerto Rico.
Another element of FIST VIII that
differed from past operations was the
inclusion of the Services' Special Operations
Group (SOG) as an operational element
at the Miami site.
FIST IX included 31 state and local law enforcement agencies from Arizona,
California, New Mexico, and Texas,
along with the former Immigration and
Naturalization Service and the former U.S Border
Patrol, and the Mexican Federal Judicial
Police. The FIST teams, comprised of
Deputy U.S. Marshals and officers of
the other agencies, operated out of eight
U.S. cities and five in Mexico.
During eight weeks of operation and
following months of preparation and
planning, the FIST 9 teams conducted
fugitive investigations from operational
sites in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; San Diego, California,
Albuquerque, New Mexico; El Paso, San Antonio, McAllen and Houston,
Texas; and the Mexican cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Matamoras,
and Mexico City. |