Final Phase of Fugitive Safe Surrender Commences Saturday

The final phase of begins Saturday, April 21, and will run out of the Grace Assembly of God Church in Atlantic City, Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel said on Friday, April 20.

The event runs on Saturday, and from Monday, April 23-Wednesday, April 25, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. The event will not run on Sunday, April 22.

and State Parole Board Chairman James T. Plousis will tour Fugitive Safe Surrender-Southern New Jersey Region on Monday, April 23, and are scheduled to speak with representatives of the media following their tour, the Attorney General’s office announced on Friday. They will be joined by area prosecutors, including Housel.

Fugitive Safe Surrender-New Jersey Southern Region is open to individuals wanted on warrants by New Jersey law enforcement officials for non-violent crimes or disorderly person offenses, including family matters and child support, the Prosecutor’s Office said. The program is also open to those who live out of state but have open warrants in New Jersey, but it can’t process out-of-state court matters, the Prosecutor’s Office said. 

"Fugitive Safe Surrender-New Jersey Southern Region offers individuals wanted on New Jersey warrants for non-violent offenses a final opportunity to resolve their matters,” Chiesa said.  “I encourage anyone who is eligible to participate in Fugitive Safe Surrender to take this opportunity for a fresh start.”

“Fugitive Safe Surrender is not an amnesty program, but does offer favorable consideration from the court, often in the form of reduced fines or probation requirements instead of incarceration,” Plousis said.  “Individuals wanted for violent crimes, or with previous convictions for violent crimes, may also surrender; however, those wanted for violent crimes are more likely to be taken into custody.”

At Fugitive Safe Surrender sites nationwide, only two percent of people who surrendered were taken into custody because the vast majority of those who turn themselves in are wanted for non-violent offenses and have no history of violence, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

The initiative is only open to U.S. citizens, legal residents or those who are lawfully in the United States.  Individuals who are not in the United States lawfully are not eligible to participate, the Prosecutor's Office said.

More information about Fugitive Safe Surrender-New Jersey Southern Region can be found at http://www.FSSNJ.com. Information can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FSSNJ.