The U.S. Marshals Service announced that it had captured more than 4,000 violent fugitives during its most recent initiative to pursue active warrants.
Phase three of Operation North Star focused on 20 cities all over the country in the last three months. U.S. Marshals arrested 4,455 people, clearing 2,818 warrants including those for murder, aggravated assault and robbery.
“Together with our law enforcement partners across the country, the Justice Department is zeroing in on the violent fugitives responsible for the greatest crime in our communities,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“The U.S. Marshals Service conducted Operation North Star III to target the most violent criminals, and together with state and local law enforcement arrested over 4,400 fugitives across 20 cities in just three months,” he said.
Operation North Star (ONS) began last summer as the Justice Department’s primary violent crime initiative. The Marshals have arrested more than 6,700 people through the program, including more than 900 on murder charges, the agency said.
The cities in the third phase of the initiative included Washington, Baltimore, New York City, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.
The initiative partners federal agents with local law enforcement to assist with tracking down and enforcing warrants.
“ONS is an evidence-based strategy that targets the drivers of violence in our communities,” Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis said. “ONS is part of the Attorney General’s violent crime reduction strategy, and its success is based on community partnerships and collaboration with our local and state law enforcement partners.”