Our Vision of the Future: Adult Probation's Fugitive Apprehension Unit

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Maricopa County Adult Probation Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit (FAU) has the difficult and very dangerous duty of locating and affecting the arrest of persons who do not want to be found. Many present significant histories of violence or assaultive behavior. While the training of FAU officers has always been “top-notch,” FAU officers took on the duty to research the needs of the FAU and then propose the implementation of new training programs and the purchase of safety related equipment. Part of the proposal was also designed to enhance the officer’s efficiency by gaining access to technology to access data systems remotely while conducting other duties. This officer initiated program included not only the research, but then the presentation to Adult Probation Command personnel, the Presiding Judge, and finally to the Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees probation training and functions of all probation departments within the State of Arizona. After overwhelmingly being approved, management simply provided the funding; then FAU officers re-wrote policy, designed and implemented training, and ensured the issuance of all equipment. The true measure of this program is that it was 100% designed, proposed, and implemented by line staff for the enhancement of their safety and efficiency.