Fugitive Safe Surrender

Tallahassee, Florida - December 08 - 11, 2010   FSS Information Flyer

For the first time in the region, individuals with outstanding non-violent misdemeanor warrants can take advantage of the U.S. Marshals Service initiative, Fugitive Safe Surrender from Wednesday through Saturday at Bethel A.M.E. Church on West Orange Street.

Fugitive Safe Surrender is a Congressionally-authorized program, through which over 27,000 individuals who have warrants have turned themselves in, met with a public defender, cleared their  warrants, and often gone before a judge and received favorable consideration all at the FSS site. Individuals from Leon, Gadsden, and Wakulla Counties are now being given the same opportunity.

Fugitive Safe Surrender offers individuals with open warrants for their arrest a safe, secure, and neutral location to take their first step to a second chance. The program puts the control back into the hands of the fugitive, providing them the opportunity to become productive members of society and better the communities in which they live and hide. Fugitives can stop running and start living free. By taking responsibility for themselves, fugitives can expect to receive favorable consideration granted by the prosecutors and courts. Furthermore, social services will be available on site to help those who surrender themselves obtain drug and alcohol counseling, job training, and whatever else they might need to get a fresh start.

Tallahassee area non-violent offenders are encouraged to surrender themselves to the
Bethel A.M.E. Church, 501 W. Orange Street in Tallahassee, between Wednesday and Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Court hearings will be held on site. Most cases for non-violent offenders can often be resolved in one day. Fugitives can expect to surrender themselves in the safety of the church, consult with an Assistant Public Defender, and speak with a Judge all on-site and all in one day.

A hotline number, (850) 942-9670 has been set up for individuals with more questions about the program or about the shuttle sites in Wakulla and Gadsden Counties.
There are no religious requirements, and anyone who wishes to surrender at a secular site may do so, and should call the hotline for more information.

The FSS program creates a partnership between the clergy, the courts, and social services agencies. That partnership is supported by local and Federal law enforcement. The Tallahassee partnership includes the U.S. Marshals Service; Bethel AME Church; Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit, the Public Defender’s Office and State Attorney’s Office of the Second Judicial Circuit, Leon, Gadsden, and Wakulla County Probation, Florida Department of Corrections Probation Office, Clerk of the Court for Leon, Gadsden, and Wakulla Counties, Leon County, City of Tallahassee, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office, Tallahassee Police Department, Deliverance Temple Ministries, Wakulla Springs Baptist Church, Wildwood Baptist Church, and several local service organizations.

Those who do not take advantage of the four-day initiative, and are arrested during warrant sweeps following Fugitive Safe Surrender will not receive the same kind of favorable consideration offered through the program.

The U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement agencies pursue tens of thousands of fugitives each year, with every arrest containing the potential for violence. Fugitives don’t just put themselves and their pursuers at risk – they endanger their families and communities as well. The Fugitive Safe Surrender program reduces this risk by allowing individuals to surrender safely at a neutral location to receive favorable consideration by the court.