The FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list is a staple of the organization. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has never heard about it; however, on the flip side, you would probably also have a difficult time finding anyone -- short of a history buff or true crime fanatic -- who actually knows the history behind the list.
The wanted list was not originally envisioned as a key resource; it was actually incorporated quite by accident. The roots of the list can be traced to Dec. 2, 1919, when William N. Bishop, a 23-year-old soldier, escaped from a military jail at Camp A. A. Humphreys in Northern Virginia. Unable to locate the soldier, the U.S. Army requested the FBI's help in tracking him down.
In an effort to locate Bishop, Frank Burke, assistant director of the FBI, sent out a notice to all his agents, asking them to "make every effort" to capture Bishop. Included in the notice was a physical description of Bishop, a photo, and his last known address. Burke went on to label the document "Identification Order No. 1," thus unknowingly creating the bureau's first wanted poster. As a result of the poster, Bishop was captured on April 6, 1920. Due to the success of the poster, the format was then applied to other criminal cases.
Fast-forward 30 years
In 1950, the FBI decided to take the wanted posters a step further and created the "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list. Since its inception, the FBI has caught 94 percent of the fugitives that have been featured on the list.
Whenever a "Ten Most Wanted" fugitive is caught, the FBI holds a casting call of sorts by contacting each of their 56 field offices and asking them to submit candidates from their own area for consideration. Once they have pooled all the fugitives' information together, officials determine who is most suited for addition to the list.
How does the FBI determine who should go on the list?
According to Howstuffworks.com, the FBI considers two specific factors in determining which criminals they add to the list:
- Is the person a danger to society?
- Would adding them to the list increase their chances of being caught?
If the individual meets the requirements listed above, they have a good chance of being added to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list. Once that happens they better watch out, because with a 94 percent success rate chances are they won't be on the run for long.
For information on who is on the FBI's current most wanted list, click here to visit their Web site.
