1. A marshal is a city law officer entrusted with particular duties.
For example, a Fire Marshal supervises and coordinates activities of firefighting personnel, inspects equipment and premises to ensure adherence to fire regulations.
2. The United States Marshals Service (or Federal Marshals) are responsible for apprehending wanted fugitives, providing protection for the federal judiciary, transporting federal prisoners, protecting endangered federal witnesses, and managing assets seized from criminal enterprises. It is an agency within the Department of Justice and the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency created by the Judiciary Act of 1789.
- Judicial Security: The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for protecting the federal judicial process. The agency is empowered by statute to protect federal judges, other court officials, witnesses, jurors, the visiting public, prisoners and other threatened persons.
- Fugitive Apprehension: The Marshals provide assistance to state and local agencies in locating and apprehending their most violent fugitives.
- Asset Forfeiture: The U.S. Marshals Service serves as the primary custodian of seized property for the program. Asset forfeiture plays a critical role in disrupting and dismantling illegal enterprises, depriving criminals of the proceeds of illegal activities, deterring crime and restoring property to victims.
- Prisoner Operations and Transportation: The U.S. Marshals Service houses and transports all federal prisoners from the time they enter federal custody until they are either acquitted or convicted and delivered to their designated federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
- Witness Security: The U.S. Marshals Service operates the federal Witness Security Program, sometimes referred to as the “Witness Protection Program.” The Witness Security Program provides for the security, safety and health of government witnesses and their authorized family members, whose lives are in danger as a result of their cooperation with the U.S. government.
[Last updated in July of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]