Catch number 80 happened this week for OnTheLookout.net. 80 arrests and counting! Local police agencies and The Fugitive Task Force have NewsChannel 9 viewers to thank for getting many of the career criminals we've profiled off the streets. So many of you have played a vital role with your tips. As I found out yesterday, sometimes it's just the fear of being profiled that can prompt someone to surrender. Photographer Ed Jones and I were at the Fugitive Task Force office yesterday, preparing for the weekly interview, when Sgt. Bob Conley told us about the quick and easy arrest they made last week. A warrant had just come out.
He didn't need to make dozens of phone calls, check old addresses or pound the pavement for the guy. A few hours after the warrant was issued, the wanted man called him. He wanted to make arrangements to turn himself in. He told Sgt. Conley he would rather surrender, than have his face " plastered all over Channel 9 and their website. " Sgt. Conley and other Task Force Team members says they're getting a lot of comments from caught fugitives about the weekly profile on our crimefighting web page and The Morning News. Most of the comments they could not politely repeat. So, we'll leave it at that.
For folks who follow Fugitive of the Week, here's some background on the police team you see each week. A team that's gotten more resources over the years, and a name change. The original team, started in 1990 by the United States Marshals Northern District of New york, consisted of two deputy US Marshals, a pair of state troopers and three Onondaga county sheriff's investigators. They called themselves the Central New York Fugitive Task Force and their arrests that year totaled 92.
The Task Force soon expanded and added the Utica and Binghamton field offices. In 2000, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) was directed under the Presidential Threat Protection Act to become the lead federal agency in all fugitive matters and directed the agency to establish permanent regional fugitive task forces across the country. The purpose of regional fugitive task forces is to combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend dangerous fugitives and assist in high profile investigations.
In 2006, the Central New York Fugitive Task Force was brought under the umbrella of the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force with the central command for this operation being headquartered in Manhattan, NY.
There are two divisions located in Northern New York, (Central) headquartered in Syracuse which oversees operations for Syracuse, Utica and Binghamton and (Capital) headquartered in Albany which oversees operations in the capital region. The NY/NJ RFTF (Central) now includes 17 agencies (state, local and federal) with over 67 members operating in US Marshals offices in Syracuse, Utica and Binghamton.
Who takes part now? It's a long list; United States Marshals, Onondaga County Sheriffs, New York State Police VFW, Syracuse Police, Oneida County Sheriffs, Utica Police, Herkimer County Sheriffs, New Hartford Police, Cayuga County Sheriffs, Auburn Police, New York State Parole, Oneida County Probation, Broome County Sheriffs, Binghamton Police, Social Security (OIG), ATF and DEA.
Interested in stats? Here they are;
Arrest Numbers: NY/NJ RFTF (Syracuse, Utica, Binghamton)
- 2006: 799
- 2007: 847
- 2008: 983
In 2007, the United States Marshals Service was directed by the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute violations of the Adam Walsh Act, which directs resources to locate and apprehend sex offenders that are evading their compliance requirements and prosecute them federally.
