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U.S. Marshals Service

Fact Sheets

 

Fugitive Operations

  • The U.S. Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for fugitive investigations.
  • The agency holds all federal arrest warrants until execution or dismissal.
  • In fiscal year 2010, the Marshals apprehended more than 36,100 federal fugitives, clearing approximately 39,100 felony warrants.
  • U.S. Marshals’ task forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. They also serve as the central point for agencies to share information on fugitive matters.
  • The U.S. Marshals currently lead 75 district fugitive task forces and seven regional fugitive task forces dedicated to investigating violent crime and locating and apprehending wanted criminals.
  • Marshals-led district task forces arrested 81,900 state and local fugitives in FY 2010, clearing approximately 108,200 state and local felony warrants.
  • The seven regional fugitive task forces are located in New York/New Jersey, Capital area, Southeast, Florida/Caribbean, Gulf Coast, Great Lakes and Pacific Southwest.
  • Marshals’ regional fugitive task forces closed more than 52,000 felony warrants by arrest, including 1,953 homicide warrants, in FY 2010.
  • The agency also leads ad-hoc task forces in special cases — such as when an inmate escapes from prison.
  • The U.S. Marshals Service works with the international law enforcement community to apprehend fugitives abroad as well as to seek foreign fugitives living or residing in the United States. In FY 2010, the Marshals coordinated 805 extraditions and deportations from 67 countries.
  • The Marshals provide assistance, expertise and training on fugitive matters to federal, state, local and international agencies.
  • The agency has four foreign field offices in Jamaica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. The U.S. Marshals work closely with law enforcement agencies along the borders of Mexico and Canada and with the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. The agency also holds key positions at Interpol.
  • The Marshals use both traditional methods and sophisticated technologies for fugitive investigations, including tactical equipment, electronic surveillance and aerial surveillance. Tactical equipment includes covert audio and video alarms and sensors; digital, narrowband, encrypted wireless communications; and radio and satellite communications equipment, such as tactical repeaters, base stations and portable tower trailers.

“15 Most Wanted” Fugitive Program

  • The U.S. Marshals’ “15 Most Wanted” fugitive program draws attention to some of the country’s most dangerous and high-profile fugitives. These felons tend to be career criminals with histories of violence, and they pose a significant threat to public safety.
  • 15 Most Wanted fugitives can include murderers, sex offenders, major drug kingpins, organized crime figures and individuals wanted for high-profile financial crimes. They are generally considered the “worst of the worst.”
  • 15 Most Wanted fugitives can be Marshals’ cases, task force cases from other federal agencies, state/ local cases adopted by task forces or cases from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
  • Since the program began in 1983, 211 15 Most Wanted fugitives have been arrested. In FY 2010, the U.S. Marshals apprehended seven of them.

Sex Offender Operations

  • Under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the U.S. Marshals Service:
  • Assists state, local, tribal and territorial authorities in the location and apprehension of non-compliant sex offenders
  • Investigates violations of the criminal provisions of the Adam Walsh Act
  • Identifies and locates sex offenders displaced as a result of a major disaster
  • In FY 2010, the Marshals:
  • Apprehended 11,072 sex offenders
  • Initiated 3,025 investigations, issued 426 warrants for registration violations and arrested 360 people for other violations of the Adam Walsh Act
  • The Marshals’ National Sex Offender Targeting Center is an interagency intelligence and operations center that supports the identification, investigation, location, apprehension and prosecution of non-compliant, unregistered fugitive sex offenders.
  • The center collaborates with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice’s Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) Office to support all levels of law enforcement in pursuing unregistered and non-compliant sex offenders.
  • Analysts conduct behavioral assessments and psychological insights into the minds of suspects and offenders to assist Marshals investigators in identifying and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. The center also assists outside law enforcement with cold case reviews, including solved or unsolved homicides in which the murder appears to be sexually motivated.
  • Since January 2009, the Marshals have conducted 317 sex offender-specific operations, involving 7,700 state and local law enforcement personnel from 1,442 state and local agencies. In FY 2010, the Marshals conducted 173 such operations.

Gang Operations

  • The U.S. Marshals Service targets violent fugitives with gang affiliations in support of the Department of Justice’s priority of fighting gang violence.
  • The existing Marshals network of 82 task forces is used for gang operations.
  • The Marshals arrested more than 4,800 gang members in FY 2010.
  • Task forces agency-wide participated in Operation Gang Surge, which identified areas of high gang violence in 2010. The operation produced a 288% increase in gang arrests over the previous quarter.
  • Operation Triple Beam took place in Tulsa, Okla., in August 2010 and involved more than 40 federal, state and local law enforcement officers. During this highly successful operation, 163 gang members were arrested and 46 firearms were seized.
  • The Marshals Service is a key member of GangTECC, the National Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center, an anti-gang task force created by the Attorney General.

Financial Surveillance

  • Financial surveillance is an investigative tool that identifies funds and assets used by fugitives to conduct criminal activity and avoid apprehension.
  • Financial surveillance investigators are able to find and track a fugitive’s financial transactions as well as identify aliases and new identities.
  • In FY 2010, Marshals financial surveillance investigators closed 1,101 warrants.

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force

  • The Marshals Service is one of seven federal agencies that are members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, the main element of the Attorney General’s drug-supply reduction strategy.
  • The task force targets major drug-trafficking and money-laundering organizations, works to eliminate the financial infrastructure of drug organizations and conducts nationwide investigations against all the related parts of the targeted organizations.
  • When U.S. Marshals provide assistance pre-takedown, 95% of targets are arrested, compared to 65% when the Marshals are not involved.
     


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Revised Feb. 25, 2011
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