§261. Department of Justice Fugitive Apprehension Unit
A. The attorney general shall maintain a statewide Fugitive Apprehension Unit
within the investigation division of the Department of Justice. The Fugitive Apprehension
Unit shall be comprised of special agents who shall be P.O.S.T.-certified peace officers
commissioned by the attorney general, intelligence analysts, and support personnel. The unit
shall be responsible for apprehending fugitives and shall perform the following activities:
(1) Coordinate with and assist local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies
including but not limited to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the office of
state police, the office of probation and parole, sheriffs departments, police departments, the
United States Marshals Service, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
and other federal law enforcement agencies, to apprehend fugitives.
(2) Provide assistance to law enforcement agencies that are actively pursuing
fugitives and individuals who have violated the terms and conditions of court-ordered
electronic monitoring programs.
(3) Execute arrest warrants and make warrantless arrests as prescribed by law.
(4) Give priority to proactively targeting fugitives wanted for violent felony offenses,
including murder, rape, armed robbery, and other heinous crimes.
(5) Establish or participate in fugitive task forces with other state or federal law
enforcement agencies to address the need for increased resources in the apprehension of
fugitives.
(6) Identify, pursue, and arrest any person who shall harbor, conceal, or aid a
fugitive, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that the offender is a fugitive, and
with the intent that the fugitive may avoid or escape from arrest, trial, conviction, or
punishment.
B. The attorney general shall appoint and commission special agents who shall be
P.O.S.T.-certified peace officers vested with all the powers conferred by law upon peace
officers of this state.
Acts 2025, No. 264, §1.