March 14 marks the anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s debut of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which began in 1950. It started after a Washington daily news story featured the FBI’s most wanted criminals. The story became extremely popular, and as a result, FBI director Edgar Hoover approved the creation of a permanent list after many fugitives were reported.
Wanted lists can be traced to the 1700s, when runaway enslaved people were described in written notices paired with rewards for their return. The 19th century saw advances in printing and photography, leading to the rise of wanted posters featuring notorious criminals such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James. As crime trends evolved, the lists did too: in early years, wanted posters featured bank robbers. The next century was largely defined by organized crime fugitives, such as the Chicago Crime Commission, which featured the list “public enemy #1”, Al Capone. Most recently, the list has consisted mainly of terrorists, drug traffickers, and white-collar criminals.
The initial list featured Thomas James Holden, who committed triple murder and worked as a plasterer when authorities caught him, and William Raymond Nesbit, who local children turned in. The FBI promoted the list by hanging most-wanted posters on bulletin boards. It is now predominantly spread through online channels and digital billboards.
To be on the list, a person must be deemed a threat to society, and publicity must be useful for finding them. FBI offices across the country can submit nominees; after nomination, agents in the Crime Division evaluate the cases, followed by review from the Public Affairs Office, and then final approval from executives.
Since 1950, 538 fugitives have been on the list, and 500 have been caught. Of these arrests, 163 were assisted by public tips. To be removed from the list, a fugitive must die or be captured; however, only a few cases have been removed because the individuals were no longer considered a threat to society.
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