Mississippi Attorney General Joins Forces With US Marshals Service
November 2, 2009
Contact: Jan Schaefer
Public Information Officer
601 359 2002
jscha@ago.state.ms.us
Jackson, MS–Attorney General Jim Hood is pleased to announce that two Investigators with the Public Integrity Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office were recently sworn in as Special Deputies with the United States Marshals Service, assigned to the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force (GCRFTF), Jackson, MS. GCRFTF is comprised of six regional areas of service throughout Mississippi and Alabama, including the Northern District of Mississippi, the Central District of Mississippi and the Southern District of Mississippi, as well as the Northern, Central and Southern Districts of Alabama. The task force, comprised of officers from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is responsible for the apprehension fugitives with a primary focus on violent offenders.
Since partnering with the Marshals Service, the task force kicked off Operation Angel Shield in a nine county area in Central Mississippi. The purpose of this operation was to locate and verify the reported addresses of registered sex offenders within these counties. As a result of this operation, task force officers, with the assistance of local law enforcement authorities, checked the residences of 637 registered sex offenders.
“During the first phase of this operation approximately 52 offenders were found to be non-compliant,” said Attorney General Hood.
The second phase of this operation will include the filing of criminal affidavits by each local jurisdiction and the issuance of warrants for the arrest of these non-compliant offenders, which will be followed up by apprehension efforts supported by the task force.
“Partnering with the Attorney General has had a tremendous impact on the reduction of crime throughout the state”, said Marshal Nehemiah Flowers, Jr. “That agency brings added experience and dedication to the task force. I am hopeful our joint efforts will continue to make Jackson and this State a safer place for citizens to call home.”
During the month of September 2009, the Jackson, MS, office of the GCRFTF arrested 45 wanted fugitives, serving a total of 60 criminal warrants originating from 16 different law enforcement agencies. In fiscal 2008, Marshals nation-wide arrested more than 73,000 fugitives, clearing more than 109,000 felony warrants. Marshals Service-led task forces, such as the GCRFTF, arrested 46,800 state and local fugitives, clearing 58,663 state and local fugitives clearing 70,329 felony warrants.
Magnolia Tribune
