Maricopa County’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit to Find and Arrest Those with Outstanding Warrants

By: James Novak, Maricopa County DUI & Criminal Defense Attorney Maricopa county has 37, 590 outstanding felony warrants for arrest according to local news sources. The Fugitive Apprehension Unit is going to residential and business locations trying to find convicts who have violated the terms of their probation releases.

The Unit is at least partially funded by border-security grants from the Federal Recovery Act to target alleged drug offenders. This year Maricopa County added add five more officers for a total of 19 to work in the specialized unit.

A person convicted of a crime often becomes a fugitive when they can not be located for many reasons such as giving probation officers false addresses, failing to show up for work interviews, or failing to attend mandatory meetings with their probation officers.

The Maricopa County Fugitive Apprehension Unit Officers generally begin looking for alleged offenders who have committed the most violent crimes and repeat offenders. Like private investigators, they use all available resources to find out where alleged fugitives are staying, working, or may be found.