U.S. marshal, Northern District of Ohio
There are 50,000 fugitives at large in northern Ohio. And it’s U.S. marshal Pete Elliott’s job to catch them. To do so, he uses honey — otherwise known as Fugitive Safe Surrender. The program, created by Elliott in 2004, arranges for churches to hold open houses — complete with judges, lawyers and even day care — where people wanted by the law can turn themselves in and have their cases handled quickly. Fugitive Safe Surrender has since expanded to six more cities across the country, and 10 more cities are in the works. More than 6,500 people have turned themselves in. The result is safer streets. Of the officers killed in the line of duty in the last 10 years in this area, Elliott estimates half were killed by fugitives. “They all act desperate when they’re on the run,” he says. “People trust the church.”
There are 50,000 fugitives at large in northern Ohio. And it’s U.S. marshal Pete Elliott’s job to catch them. To do so, he uses honey — otherwise known as Fugitive Safe Surrender. The program, created by Elliott in 2004, arranges for churches to hold open houses — complete with judges, lawyers and even day care — where people wanted by the law can turn themselves in and have their cases handled quickly. Fugitive Safe Surrender has since expanded to six more cities across the country, and 10 more cities are in the works. More than 6,500 people have turned themselves in. The result is safer streets. Of the officers killed in the line of duty in the last 10 years in this area, Elliott estimates half were killed by fugitives. “They all act desperate when they’re on the run,” he says. “People trust the church.”
