Fugitive Safe Surrender
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – June
10-13, 2009
As expected, Fugitive Safe Surrender-Harrisburg was a
tremendous success. Under the leadership of Michael Regan, United States
Marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1,282 people
surrendered at the Zion Assembly of Harrisburg on North 5th Street, from
June 10-13, 2009.
Said Marshal Regan, “It’s fun to see the look on their faces when
they’re finally walking out the door, and it’s amazing to see the load
be lifted from them.”
“They’re walking out with this burden off their hearts and off their
minds,” said Pastor Raleigh Wingfield of Zion Assembly.
Apostle Brenda Alton of the nearby Kingdom Embassy Church noticed the
difference in people before and after participating in Fugitive
Safe Surrender. “Some of them have been nervous coming in,” she
said, “but when they’re through, we are seeing a whole new sense of
peace coming over them. They feel that they can finally take a breath.”
As always, successful Fugitive Safe Surrender operations
require the cooperation and collaboration of numerous agencies and
organizations.
Front-line law enforcement partners included the Harrisburg Police
Department, Dauphin County Adult Probation and Parole, Dauphin County
Juvenile Probation, the Dauphin County Sheriff’s Office, the
Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, and the Pennsylvania Chiefs
of Police Association.
Partners within the justice system included the Office of the United
States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Dauphin
County Court of Common Pleas, the Dauphin County Magisterial District
Judges, the Dauphin County Clerk of Courts, the Dauphin County District
Attorney’s Office, the Dauphin County Public Defender’s Office, and
Dauphin County Domestic Relations.
Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick acknowledged Fugitive
Safe Surrender’s multi-dimensional approach to being a first
step toward a second chance. “All of us in our lives have made a
mistake, and how you respond from making that mistake reveals your
character,” he said.
To assist with that second chance, there were service providers
available from a number of local organizations, including the following:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters; Christian Recover Aftercare Ministry (CRAM);
Colonial House; Dauphin County Crisis Intervention; Department of Public
Welfare (DPW) Special Pharmaceutical Benefits Program; Firm Foundation;
Gaudenzia House; Gaudenzia Inc.’s New Options; Parents and Children
Together (PACT); Pennsylvania Career Link; Pennsylvania Counseling
Services; Pennsylvania Recovery Organizations Alliance; The Program (IT’s
About Change); Tri-county OIC; Youth Build; and the YWCA.
In addition to the Zion Assembly of Harrisburg, faith-based partners
include the Firm Foundation of Pennsylvania, Inc., and Kingdom Embassy.
Harrisburg was the 14th city to implement Fugitive Safe Surrender
under the guidance of the United States Marshals Service.
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