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“North Jersey Fugitive Safe Surrender,” staged at Evangelismos Church, cleared nearly 10,000 criminal and civil warrants between Wednesday and Saturday for people who then received favorable consideration from judges, authorities said.
Only two of those who surrendered were taken into custody on felony warrants. The rest were wanted for non-violent offenses and didn’t have violent histories, state authorities said.
Of the rest:
- 63% were wanted for traffic warrants;
- 33% were wanted for misdemeanor criminal warrants;
- 4% percent were wanted for child support, family court, or probation warrants.
Hoffman called the event “a tremendous, record-breaking success that will touch thousands of lives for the better – not just the nearly 5,000 individuals who surrendered, but the lives of their loved ones and fellow New Jerseyans.”
In the five years that it was held, the “Fugitive Safe Surrender” program has helped nearly 18,000 people “begin to build new lives … by offering favorable consideration, not amnesty,” he said. “This is exactly the sort of collaborative partnership that helps break the cycle of unlawful behavior and makes our communities safer.”
The only higher turnouts in the U.S. were in Cleveland, with 7,200 surrenders in 2010, and Detroit, which had 6,578 in 2008.
New Jersey State Parole Board Chairman James T. Plousis said that the former fugitives can “finally walk in public without the fear that they will be stopped by law enforcement. This in turn frees up police resources that can better be used on other public safety matters.”
Authorities pointed to several success stories, including that of 25-year-old Dessaix Maurissette, of Jersey City, who was wanted on several warrants for owing $2,000 in traffic tickets.
Maurissette said he paid surcharges but had trouble with the full amount.
“I plan to get married and start a family someday,” he said. “I realized I can no longer live with the fear that I might get pulled over and taken to jail while trying to drive my wife to deliver a baby, or driving to pick up diapers.”
Through “Fugitive Safe Surrender,” Maurisette cleared his debt with a single $100 payment, authorities said.
Previous highs:
Newark (2009): 4,103
Somerset/New Brunswick (2010): 3,901
Atlantic City (2012): 3,027
Camden (2008): 2,245
Authorities cited the economic impact:
“A total of approximately $40,000 in municipal and superior court income was collected during the four-day event.
“More will be collected as hundreds of overflow cases are heard this week. Still more will be collected on a scheduled basis from those assigned payment plans.
“Each person who surrenders represents an estimated savings of $500 to local governments. This very conservative estimate is based on the police and jail costs involved in processing someone wanted on a municipal traffic warrant.
“Additional economic benefits follow when the former fugitives become eligible to apply for driver’s license reinstatement, and the employment and other opportunities that come with having a state-issued identification and privilege to drive.
“Still greater intangible benefits result when individuals are free to stop hiding from the law and to become contributing members of their families and society.”
“Fugitive Safe Surrender” stems from a partnership among the Attorney General’s Office, the state Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, as well as the state Parole Board, Department of Corrections, Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, Motor Vehicle Commission, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Office of Information Technology, and New Jersey Transit.
Key partners include the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice and the Police Institute at Rutgers-Newark; Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church; the Prosecutor’s and Sheriff’s Offices of Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic counties; the Superior and Municipal Courts of New Jersey (primarily the Hudson and Passaic vicinages); the City of Jersey City and the County of Hudson; county and local law enforcement from Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic counties; and other agencies and organizations at the state, county, municipal, community and faith-based levels.
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