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.
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If you have an outstanding
warrant and you wish to surrender to authorities prior to a formal Fugitive Safe Surrender
operation coming to your area, you should
contact your local police department or USMS
district office. |