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About  US Marshals

The offices of U.S. Marshals and Deputy Marshal were created by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789, the same legislation that established the Federal Judicial System. The Marshals were given extensive authority to support the federal courts within their judicial districts and to carry out all lawful orders issued by judges, Congress, or the president.  The modern U.S. Marshals Service was constituted as a national unified federal agency in 1969. 

Originally, their primary function was to support the federal courts. The Marshals and their Deputies served the subpoenas, summonses, writs, warrants and other process issued by the courts, made all the arrests and handled all the prisoners. They also disbursed the money. The Marshals paid the fees and expenses of the court clerks, U.S. Attorneys, jurors and witnesses. They rented the courtrooms and jail space and hired the bailiffs, criers, and janitors. In effect, they ensured that the courts functioned smoothly.

Over the past 200 years, Congress and the president also called on the Marshals to carry out unusual or extraordinary missions such as; registering enemy aliens in time of war, sealing the American border against armed expeditions aimed at foreign countries and swapping spies with the Soviet Union.

The Marshals Service has a number of important mission areas, namely, Judicial Security, Fugitive Apprehension, Asset Forfeiture, Prisoner Operations, Sex Offender Compliance, Tactical Operations, Missing Children & Witness Security. 

U.S. Marshals Overview

US Marshals have an envious historical legacy and unmatched capabilities concerning fugitive apprehension operations.  With approximately 5,212 Deputy U.S. Marshals & Criminal Investigators (FY 2020), their task forces  are well known force multipliers.  US Marshals also manage a number of vital programmatic areas, namely judicial security (i..e safety of all federal judges) and witness protection program (approximately 19K+ participants).

Straight Talk - Marshals

The U.S. Marshals are a quasi-criminal investigator agency.  Unlike every other 1811 agency, new Deputies are hired as GS-0082 series Deputy U.S. Marshals (GL 5-7).  Upon reaching the GL 9 Pay Band for one year, Deputies are then eligible for promotion to the GS-1811 Series after demonstrating satisfactory performance.  Consequently, the USMS workforce is made up of both Deputy U.S. Marshals AND Criminal Investigators.

Although the tactical aspect of the USMS is constantly highlighted in recruiting, new deputies should expect their initial service to likely involve prisoner transport and processing, as well as judicial security management responsibilities.  Placements on primary fugitive task forces are highly coveted positions among the Marshals Service! 

Additionally, although the US Marshals do extremely important work targeting Sex Offenders, these are not  criminal investigations. USMS operations involve compliance checks, warrant arrests, & fugitive operations; NOT drafting affidavits or running long term investigations. 

The initial US Marshals Service  application process can be a bit daunting to navigate.

US Marshals

Academy Training

United States Marshals Service Basic Training Academy is conducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), in Glynco, GA.  The US Marshals Academy for GS-0082 Deputies consists of 21-1/2 weeks of basic training instructed by the FLETC and USMS instructors.  Due to the intensity of physical activity, and the relatively short duration of the class, students must arrive at the FLETC in excellent physical condition.  The training program includes numerous hours of strenuous physical conditioning and intensive defensive tactics training.  Students must pass a total of seven exams, several pass/fail practicals and successfully meet all fitness standards.  The US Marshals Service is indeed a boot camp style Stress Academy and is more analogous to a State Police training program than the typical 1811 Criminal Investigator academy setting.  In fact, US Marshals are likely to be engaging in early morning formation runs while the 1811 trainees (i.e. Secret Service, HSI, DSS) are casually grabbing their morning coffees.  USMS is distinctly different in the nature of its entire training program and all trainees should be mentally & physically prepared.   

US Marshals Youtube Playlist

The US Marshals maintain a Student Volunteer Internship Program for College Students.  Applicants must be current college students enrolled in an accredited program. 

For more information on their Student Volunteer Internship Program, send email to: USMS.StudentVolunteer@usdoj.gov

Fugitive Task force

In 1979, the Attorney General transferred the responsibility of fugitives from the FBI to the US Marshals Service.  With the latter success of the Fugitive Investigative Strike Team Operations; the US Marshal's led inter-agency task force is unrivaled in its ability to locate and apprehend fugitives. 

U.S. Marshals Service Articles