Critical information from civilians has helped the FBI locate dangerous criminals in many cases.
The FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list is updated with criminals who are considered the most wanted at the time and often based on severity of crimes committed. Those on the list are publicized on television, online and podcasts, in order to bring attention to dangerous fugitives that otherwise may not be known to the public.
The list of 10 most wanted criminals has led to nearly 500 criminals being captured or located since the first list was revealed.
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The FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list dates to 1950.
After a reporter asked the FBI the year prior for names and descriptions of the “toughest” guys they wanted to capture, a list was provided in March 1950, according to a FAQ page at FBI.gov.
After the story drew public attention, the FBI director at the time, J. Edgar Hoover, began the 10 Most Wanted Fugitives program.
Since the early days of the list, tips from citizens have helped to capture and locate dangerous criminals on the street.
The list was designed to “publicize particularly dangerous fugitives who might not otherwise merit nationwide attention,” according to FBI.gov.
Names of the most wanted criminals are located online with updates also published on the FBI’s social media pages.
Outside the FBI’s official list, there are many other ways dangerous criminals are captured with the help of public tips.
A number of true-crime podcasts are available to listeners which have assisted in helping to solve criminal cases. Additionally, TV programs like “America’s Most Wanted” have played a role in catching dangerous criminals.
The television show originally launched in 1988 with John Walsh as its host and creator. Walsh was struck by tragedy when his 6-year-old firstborn son, Adam Walsh, was kidnapped and brutally murdered.
Since this personal tragedy, Walsh made it his mission to keep children safe from abductors and quickly recover those who have been kidnapped.
The show originally ran for 24 seasons. During its original run, the show helped capture more than 1,190 criminals, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a nonprofit organization founded by Walsh, his wife and other advocates.
Walsh returned to host a reboot of the show on Fox in 2024 with his son Callahan as co-host.
“The backbone of the show is the viewers. They’re the tipsters that provide us with the information that leads to the arrest that leads to justice for these families … that are so desperate for it,” Callahan previously told Fox News Digital.
“Again, it comes back to the viewer, the fan, to that armchair detective [or] internet sleuth, and we’re able to harness these individuals not just through the show, but through social media and providing additional information … being able to use the public and our fan base as a force multiplier is what the show is all about — sharing the white-hot spotlight on a wanted fugitive and having the public do the right thing.”
An individual must have a record of serious crimes and be considered a danger to society to be placed on the list. It also must be believed that publicity on a nationwide scale can aid in their capture, according to FBI.gov. Additionally, the criminal must not already be well known to the public.
The FBI’s 56 field offices will submit candidates for the list to the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) at FBI headquarters.
After that, nominees are reviewed by special agents from the CID and the Office of Public Affairs, according to FBI.gov.
Final approval must be given by FBI executive management.
The person who was featured on the FBI’s list for the longest stint was Victor Manuel Gerena, appearing from May 1984 until December 2016.
Gerena was wanted for an alleged robbery of around $7 million from a security company in West Hartford, Connecticut. Gerena has yet to be caught.
The shortest time a fugitive spent on the list was Billie Austin Bryan in 1969. He was arrested two hours after he was added to the list, according to FBI.gov. He was found just four blocks from his home.
A person is removed from the list and replaced with another if he is arrested, if charges are dropped or if the person no longer fits the criteria to be on the list, according to FBI.gov.
An example of this would be a case where the person is no longer considered a “particularly dangerous menace to society.”
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As of November 2023, there have been 532 fugitives on the FBI’s list. Of those fugitives, 494 have been captured or located. One hundred and sixty-three of those who have been captured or located have been found due to tips from the public, according to FBI.gov.
The FBI’s most wanted list has included criminals involved in many different types of crimes. Through the years, the most prominent types of crimes on the list have changed.
For example, in the early days of the program, fugitives were often wanted for bank robberies, burglaries and car thefts, according to the FBI’s FAQ sheet.
In the 1960s, this shifted to crimes involving the destruction of government property, sabotage and kidnapping.
Then, in the 1970s, many criminals on the list were involved in organized crime and terrorism.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, sexual predators, international terrorists and drug traffickers were most common on the list.
The modern-day list includes many fugitives involved in those same crimes, with crimes against children, white-collar crime and gang violence also having a presence, according to FBI.gov.
