Posted on: Friday, April 15, 2005
133 arrested in historic sweep
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than 130 fugitives were arrested in Hawai'i last week as part of a nationwide dragnet that nabbed more than 10,000 criminals in the largest coordinated crackdown by federal, state and local law enforcement officials in history.
Operation Falcon resulted in the arrest of 133 fugitives on the islands of O'ahu and Maui.
Of those arrested, 70 were wanted for narcotics and violent offenses, the U.S. Marshals Service said. The 133 criminals had a combined 1,491 prior arrests, the Marshals Service said.
"It's so satisfying. You can have the keiki go play in the park, the kupunas can go wash clothes at the laundromat because the criminals are getting hooked and they are getting locked up," said Mark "Dutch" Hanohano, head of the U.S. Marshals Service in Hawai'i. "The cooperation between agencies and departments ensured success and Hawai'i is safer."
Said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, "I strongly believe that the work of Operation Falcon in Hawai'i will positively impact the crime rate in our state because we are removing the most wanted criminals —the worst of the worst from our streets — and making Hawai'i's communities a safer place to live."
Nationwide, about 10,472 fugitives wanted for murder, rape, child abuse, undocumented sex offenses and other crimes were arrested. Overall, the campaign included the arrests of more than 160 murder suspects, 550 rape and sexual assault suspects and more than 150 alleged gang members, officials said.
The arrests represent just 1 percent of the 1 million fugitives in the FBI's national database, according to the Marshals Service. The operation was scheduled to coincide with National Crime Victim's Rights Week.
While the tangible results of the operation were on display yesterday, law enforcement observers were careful to praise the campaign.
Criminal justice experts said that by apprehending thousands of fugitives in a matter of days, the operation underscored the low priority that law enforcement agencies often give to locating people who have jumped bail, violated parole or otherwise evaded state and federal courts.
"The dirty little secret is that there usually is not enough effort and manpower put into apprehension of fugitives," said David Harris, a law professor at the University of Toledo who studies criminal justice issues. "Most fugitives are aware of this, and it makes the system a joke. ... It's never been a top priority."
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the large number of arrests was the result of a "concentrated, intensive effort" that is not possible under normal circumstances. But he said the operation would serve as a model for future cooperation between federal and local agencies.
Ninety percent of the cases involved local or state warrants.
"There are clearly bad guys out on the streets that need to be rounded up," Gonzales said at a news conference with Marshals Service Director Benigno Renya. "More needs to be done. We understand that, and I think we're heartened by these results."
Large backlogs of warrants exist in most local jurisdictions, sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands, even though many local law enforcement agencies have special units dedicated to locating fugitives. Fugitives remain on the street because they often cross state or jurisdictional lines. Without a federal officer, authorities cannot enter another city or county to make an arrest.
The Marshals Service, which has been given added responsibilities by Congress as the FBI turns its attention to preventing terrorism, has set up a series of regional task forces focused on apprehending fugitives.
Last week's dragnet brought in some 1,500 suspects linked to murder, rape, kidnapping or other serious violent offenses, according to the Marshals Service.
The largest category of cases — nearly 4,300 — involved drug crimes, while 1,700 other suspects were arrested for assault charges, the government said.
Federal officials said Operation Falcon cost the marshals about $900,000 overall. Hawai'i received $10,000 for the operation, which was initiated two weeks ago. The Hawai'i High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area contributed an additional $50,000 to the efforts.
In all of last year, the Marshals Service arrested about 36,000 fugitives on federal warrants and helped apprehend about 32,000 others in local cases.
In Hawai'i, the operation was spearheaded by the Hawai'i Fugitive Task Force, the state sheriffs, and the Maui Police Department.
The task force is a collaboration of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies formed in March 2003 and dedicated entirely to hunting career criminals. The task force, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, identifies the most wanted fugitives in the state, cross-deputizes police officers, city prosecutors, sheriffs and others, then applies federal resources and manpower to hunt them.
From April 4 to 10, the task force, working with Maui police, arrested 73 fugitives on O'ahu and 60 on Maui. Of the 133 arrests, 70 were for narcotics or violent offenses, and one involved a fugitive wanted in Salt Lake County, Utah.
The raids yielded 2 ounces of methamphetamine, a quarter ounce of marijuana and 10 marijuana plants.
The Associated Press and The Washington Post contributed to this report. Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
