The News Room [News Archive]
Oliver,
Evans Call Fugitive Apprehension Partnership a Tremendous Succcess ---
Arrests of High-Risk Felons Triple in
First Four Weeks of Joint Push
Today, Detroit
Police Chief Jerry Oliver and Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans
made a strong case for making their 60-day fugitive apprehension
task force a permanent fixture by announcing some impressive
arrest numbers from the program’s first four weeks.
Prior to establishing
the Fugitive Apprehension Service Team [FAST], approximately
50 fugitives were brought into custody on a monthly basis. Since
the joint effort hit the streets, with 17 Detroit officers matching
16 from Wayne County, officers have made 149 arrests since January
27th—nearly triple the previous number in the targeted
offense areas.
Of the 149
arrests made thus far, the breakdown is as follows:
- Non-service
warrants [not yet in custody]: 79
- Parole Violation/Escapee:
38
- Capias [Failure
to Appear]: 19
- Probation
violation: 11
- Extradition:
02
"Our
top priority with this new cooperative approach has been to taking
as many high-risk felons off the streets as possible," Oliver
said. "Clearly, working together has had a dramatic impact
on our ability to do just that."
Many of the
individuals arrested thus far have been charged with, or previously
convicted of, violent offenses such as rape, armed robbery, felonious
assault, home invasion and aggravated stalking.
"We made
a conscious effort to target those individuals who are either
repeat offenders or have demonstrated the most violent tendencies," said
Evans. "These are the people who, on an individual basis,
commit a much higher percentage of serious crimes."
Behind
the numbers
The largest
jump in the statistics has come as a result of Detroit’s
efforts to pursue non-service warrants, an area that previously
received limited attention from both the city and the county.
"Half
of the arrests made during the first four weeks of FAST have
been on non-service warrants." Oliver said. "Since
these are the freshest cases, our ability to track these criminals
down is higher since all of our information on them is current."
Evans said
the collaborative approach has resulted in arrest numbers that
have exceeded his expectations.
"The
benefit here has not been simply a case of 'double the
officers and double the arrests'," he said. "In
fact, it has turned out be 'double the officers and triple
the arrests'."
Partnership
taking root
As part of
the effort to establish a true partnership, Chief Oliver immediately
made sure space was made available at Police Headquarters for
Wayne County's officers, so they and their Detroit counterparts
would have as much interaction as possible. The decision, he
says, is paying off.
"I am
convinced of the fact these officers are working so closely together
has been a big part of their success thus far. The atmosphere
now is much more 'we,' instead of 'us and them'," Oliver
said.
Although FAST
was initially designed to be a 60-day test, Evans and Oliver
say there is great evidence that supports making the Detroit-Wayne
County fugitive team a permanent fixture.
"The
numbers speak for themselves," Evans said. "Give
us more time together and I think we’ll be able to do even
better."
Evans and Oliver also acknowledge the US Marshal Service, and the cities of
Taylor and Livonia. Each has committed at least one officer to the task force.
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