I have aspirations of joining the U.S. Marshals one day in the future. So for a prior college project, I conducted an interview with former U.S. Marshal Jeremy C. Rose that resulted in honest, and eye-opening information. Rose is the supervisory deputy U.S. Marshal of the Southern District of Ohio.
The Marshals began in 1789 by President George Washington and the first Continental Congress. U.S. Marshals are charged with assisting federal courts and carrying out orders from the judicial, legislative and executive branches of the federal government. U.S. Marshals also served subpoenas, summonses, writs, warrants and other documents created by the courts.
They make arrests, handle transportation of federal prisoners and disburse funds according to the dictates of the federal courts. Marshals can also be called upon to perform administrative tasks such as pay fees and expenses of the court’s clerks, attorneys, jurors and witnesses, rent courtrooms, procure jail space, hire bailiffs, town criers and janitors, if necessary.
Marshal Rose has been with the Marshal service for 16 years. He got into this field first by joining the military. The military paid for his college education at Wright State University. While at WSU, he interned with the U.S. Marshals. Then he applied for the Marshal’s academy.
The minimum qualifications for a career in the Marshals is a Bachelor’s degree, passing physical requirements set by the U.S. Marshal fitness board, a clean background and a clean credit history.
There are also entry level jobs in the organization such as administrative positions and technical support. The true mission and vision of the Marshals is to protect the judicial process. Marshals ensure that the court process is not impeded. This goes hand in hand with their code of ethics which is justice, integrity, and service.
Rose then touched on the degrees and certifications that are required for entry or advancement. He said a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field would be enough.
“The educational opportunities in this field can give you a vast sense of professional development,” he said.
He then went on to describe the work environment in three words: Enjoyable, he really enjoys what he does; Operational, there are many working parts and everyone is expected to do their part; And Enforcement, no matter how you look at it this is a somewhat strict place.
“We come here to do a job and make a difference,” Rose said.
The most satisfying thing about being a U.S. Marshal to Rose is knowing that you can have an incredible impact on someone’s life, while also interacting with all types of people that fall into many different ethnicities and levels of society/poverty.
Rose then spoke on the drawbacks of the job and how the state of the criminal justice system affects that.
“Constantly, the Marshals are being asked to do more and more for their jobs with less and less resources,” he said.
For example some law enforcement jobs now require you to have a high level of medic training in dealing with drug overdoses while trying to police and protect, on top of trying to engage and calm the population around you. They expect you to do all of that with no increase in pay with less tools available to help you do your job.
He also says that the criminal justice system sometimes over criminalizes certain things like low level drug offenses, which put more work on law enforcement individuals and take time away from them pursuing more serious crimes and criminals.
Marshal Rose has daily contact with a vast network of law enforcement professionals outside of his organization. They all agree that there needs to be a more streamline stance on policing because in the next five to ten years in the criminal justice field things are only going to get harder.
The career of being a Marshal had a big effect on Rose’s view of the world.
“As a Marshal I see a lot of danger in the world and many ugly truths,” Rose said. “As a father, that makes me a bit more overprotective than most because I have seen how truly cruel the world can be.”
In conclusion, Rose offered advice to potential Marshals. He recommends pursuing job shadowing and internship opportunities as much as possible.
“To be successful in your career, some necessary abilities to have are good people skills; you have to be able to easily connect with people,” Rose said. “Also, have a lot of patience. You have to learn how to take your time with cases and procedures. But most importantly live by the law. If you are expected to enforce the laws of the United States, make sure you’re also following these laws!”
Justin A. Baker
Staff Writer