The Manchester Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Team up to Catch Fugitives

Concord, NH - United States Marshal David Cargill, Jr. and Manchester Police Chief David Mara have created an alliance with a full-time commitment to the United States Marshals –New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force. This commitment has been in existence since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002 on a part-time basis, but in an effort to arrest wanted fugitives in the Queen City, a Manchester detective has been assigned to the task force on a full-time basis.

The United States Marshals – New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force was formed in 2002 with agreements with all ten (10) County Sheriff’s, The New Hampshire State Police, and countless other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to work together in combating the warrant backlog and apprehending fugitives with violent and or extensive criminal histories within the State of New Hampshire and beyond. The Marshals Fugitive Task Force allows all of these agencies to pool their resources, manpower and knowledge for the common goal of locating and arresting violent fugitives in an effort to make New Hampshire safer.

“Being that Manchester is the largest city in the State of New Hampshire, the Marshals Fugitive Task Force has had a long time presence in the City, but this enhanced effort will increase the presence of the task force in Manchester resulting in a more significant number of wanted fugitives being arrested,“ said Marshal Cargill. “The United States Marshals are extremely dedicated and knowledgeable in the field of fugitive investigations and this pairing; with a skilled and experienced investigator from the Manchester Police Department is a natural fit. The City of Manchester is the largest and most populated city in the State of New Hampshire and produces a large amount of felony warrants. Combining our resources and manpower will assist in the reduction of outstanding warrants and reduce the amount of wanted felons on the streets of Manchester resulting in even safer streets”, said Chief Mara. Mara continued, “We want those criminals hiding out in the Queen City to know, that we are coming for them. This initiative enhances and expands our long time partnership with the United States Marshals.”

The New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force also has a ‘Fugitive of the Week’ program which broadcasts a different fugitive each week on WTPL-FM radio, WMUR-TV, The Union Leader, The Nashua Telegraph, The Patch, Foster’s Daily Democrat and is prominently featured on the internet. This program has also resulted in numerous arrests due to the outstanding partnership with the public. We hear from the public on a daily basis providing information on the whereabouts of fugitives. We are always grateful to the public who obviously care about the safety and well-being of their communities.

In 2006 Congress enacted the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (AWA). The AWA replaced the Jacob Wetterling Act and expanded on existing national standards for the registration of sex offenders. One provision of the AWA, provides the United States Marshal Service with the authority to investigate criminal violations of the act. Over the last two years the district of New Hampshire and its task force partners have been involved in 150 sex offender investigations resulting in 27 federal and 41 state convictions.

The United States Marshals Service fugitive programs are carried out with local law enforcement in 94 district offices, 85 local fugitive task forces, 7 regional task forces, as well as a growing network of offices in foreign countries.

The U.S. Marshals are designated by the Department of Justice as the primary agency to apprehend fugitives that are wanted by foreign nations and believed to be in the United States. Fugitive apprehension efforts have expanded abroad with the U.S. Marshals Service offices in Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. The Marshals Service is the primary agency responsible for tracking and extraditing fugitives who are apprehended in foreign countries and wanted for prosecution in the United States.

Since the inception of the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force in 2002, these partnerships have resulted in over 5,523 arrests. These arrests have ranged in seriousness from murder, assault, unregistered sex offenders, probation and parole violations and numerous other serious offenses.