Fugitive Safe Surrender

Newark, New Jersey – November 4-7, 2009

The development of Fugitive Safe Surrender in Northern New Jersey was launched under the stewardship of James Plousis, United States Marshal for New Jersey. Marshal Plousis has worked with government, corporate, non-profit, and faith-based sector partners to lay the groundwork for a successful Fugitive Safe Surrender operation in Newark, New Jersey. That four-day surrender period has been set for Wednesday, November 4, to Saturday, November 7, 2009. The doors will be open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm each day at the Bethany Baptist Church, located at 275 W. Market Street in Newark.

The Reverend Dr. M. William Howard of Bethany Baptist Church has agreed to serve as the faith-based leader of Fugitive Safe Surrender-Newark, and will host the surrender days in his church.

This is the second FSS event sponsored by the Marshals Service in the State of New Jersey. Almost 2,250 people surrendered in Camden at Fugitive Safe Surrender in November 2008. Newark’s operation will be the 17th Fugitive Safe Surrender operation held nationwide, and organizers are hopeful that this initiative, like the many that have preceded it around the country, will be successful and have a positive impact on the community.

Target individuals for this initiative include those with outstanding non-violent warrants issued in New Jersey, regardless of the originating county or local jurisdiction. In most cases, participants will be able to meet with an attorney, see a judge, and have their cases adjudicated on-site at Bethany Baptist Church, and the nearby Priory. However, individuals with warrants for serious or violent offenses may also surrender in the safe confines of the church.

There are no religious requirements, and a secular surrender site is available.

In addition to the Marshals Service, the Newark program has the full support of law enforcement organizations such as the Essex County Parole Task Force, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the New Jersey State Parole Board, the New Jersey State Police, the Newark Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey’s (UMDNJ) Department of Public Safety.

Key judicial and court participants not only include the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, but also the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, Newark Municipal Court, the Superior Court of New Jersey-Essex Vicinage, and the Superior Court of New Jersey-Union Vicinage, and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office.

Additional partners include the Clinton Hill Weed and Seed/Drug-Free Communities, City of East Orange, East Orange Weed and Seed, the Essex County Department of Citizen Services, Offender Aid and Restoration of Essex County, the Township of Irvington, Irvington Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, Irvington Weed and Seed, the City of Newark, Newark Municipal Council - Office of the Council President, Newark Office of Reentry, the Newark Police Department - Chaplains’ Association, Newark Reentry Legal Services (ReLeSe), the City of Orange, the Paterson Department of Community Development - Neighborhood Assistance Office, the City of Plainfield, the Township of Union, and the Union County Human Services - Workforce Development Operations.

Faith-based and community partners, in addition to Bethany Baptist Church, include Bethel Outreach Ministries, the Center for Urban Education (CUE), Churches in Cooperation (CIC), Elmwood Presbyterian Church, Faith Christian Center, Happy Hands Foundation, Inc., Integrity House, Leopard Films, Mercy House and Straight Street Prison Ministry, New Community Corporation, Newark Now, The Nicholson Foundation, The Police Institute at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Project Drive, Inc., The Salvation Army, and the Waris Cultural Center.

Individuals with warrants from New Jersey, who wish to surrender, and their loved ones who wish to assist them, are encouraged to call the FSS-Newark hotline at (888) 852-9378.