CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Donald Washington said on Tuesday in the capital city of West Virginia that he knows just how valuable more feet on the ground are to the United States Marshals Service.
Washington, the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, added that some fugitives may take up to a dozen deputies to track down and bring to justice.
He made those comments Tuesday at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse, as he helped swear-in 11 sheriff deputies from neighboring counties as Special Deputy United States Marshals for the Cops United Felony Fugitive Enforcement Division (CUFFED) Task Force.
“They help us to do our job. They are a force multiplier for us and we become a force multiplier for them in this whole effort to clean up our communities with those folks who are wanted by the law,” Washington told the media.
The CUFFED Task Force is tasked with locating and apprehending violent, felony fugitives within the Southern District of West Virginia.
Washington said the deputies sworn-in will get right to work with the force, with nearly 1.2 million outstanding warrants out in the United States right now for people wanted by the judicial system, whether state or federally.
“Using these task forces we will bring about 85 to 90-thousand men and women a year who are wanted by the judicial system to justice. These gentlemen will be a part of that. Do the math and that’s about 350 a day across the country,” Washington said.
“The whole effort here is to reduce violent crime. At the end of the day, that’s why these task forces exist.”
There are 94 federal districts in the United States with each district having a task force. Congress authorized additional regional fugitive task forces covering certain sections of the country.
Any districts not covered in the regional ones will have these special forces made up of deputies and local enforcement.
Washington, who was sworn-in to his position by President Donald Trump in March of this year, said he expects a lot from the deputies and local officials that are now Special Deputy United States Marshals, as they receive the powers of a regular Deputy U.S. Marshal.
“They are going to learn a way a Deputy U.S. Marshal goes about doing their work,” he said. “We will expect them to carry themselves like Deputy U.S. Marshals, to act like Deputy U.S. Marshals because they are going to have those powers for so long that they are specially deputized.”
While in town, Washington also met with local, state and federal officials including Mike Stuart, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia and Michael Baylous, the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of West Virginia.