The U.S. Marshals have a long history of providing assistance and expertise to other law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive investigations. The success of U.S. Marshals task force initiatives, combined with the outstanding relationships forged with other law enforcement agencies, has led to the formation of permanent fugitive task forces, as well as ad-hoc task forces in response to unique cases that pose immediate threat to the public. In 2020, U.S. Marshals Service-led fugitive task forces arrested over 77,460 federal, state and local fugitives and cleared over 90,400 warrants.
Regional Fugitive Task Forces
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) oversees the nation's regional fugitive task forces, established under the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000. The purpose of regional fugitive task forces is to combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and assist in high profile investigations.
Local Fugitive Task Forces
The United States Marshals Service currently leads 56 local fugitive task forces. The majority of the task forces are full-time efforts however, additional task forces are formed on an ad-hoc basis, in response to specific cases. Funding for these task forces is often granted through initiatives such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) task forces.