Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
The FBI has been chasing fugitives since its inception, but the birth of the Top Ten list, as it’s sometimes known, began in 1949 when a reporter from the International News Service asked the FBI for the names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” the Bureau was after.
The resulting story garnered so much public attention that then-Director J. Edgar Hoover permanently implemented the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on March 14 the following year.
The first person to be placed on the list was Thomas James Holden, who was arrested in 1951 after a citizen recognized his photograph in an Oregon newspaper.
As the Bureau’s investigative priorities shifted, the types of crimes represented on the list shifted, as well. Throughout the 1950s, the list featured bank robbers, burglars, and car thieves fleeing state jurisdiction. In the 1960s, the crimes of those on the list transitioned to destruction of government property, sabotage, and kidnapping.
In the 1970s and 1980s, organized crime and murder dominated the list. More specifically, in the 1980s, drug-related crimes and serial murderers became an FBI priority. This trend continued until the late 1990s, when the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list began to reflect the growing international aspect of criminal activity.
Today, the list focuses on the most violent fugitives responsible for crimes like homicides, armed robberies, violent gang and drug-trafficking activity, violent crimes against children, or shootings in public places.
Stemen explained the process of adding a new fugitive:
“When there’s an opening on the list, the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division canvases the 55 FBI field offices and asks for nominations. Once we gather those nominations, we sit down with the Office of Public Affairs and review each case. We work together to decide who meets the criteria for the list, and then we send that recommendation to executive management for approval.”
The FBI looks at two key items when it comes to determining who should be put on the list, “the first being: Is the violent criminal a menace to society and are they particularly dangerous? Meaning, do they have a lengthy criminal history or did they commit their crime in a really public place?” said Stemen. “The other thing we’re looking at is publicity, because at its core, the Top Ten list is a publicity resource. So, we’re looking to see if publicity itself could help us locate the fugitive for an arrest.”
At a minimum, the FBI offers a reward of up to $250,000—an amount that was recently increased from $100,000—for information that leads directly to the arrest of a Ten Most Wanted Fugitive. In some instances, the reward amount offered is more than $250,000.
The list is not ranked in any way, and, in rare cases, more than 10 names will be on the list. The first special addition was in 1961 for Richard Laurence Marquette, who was wanted for murder. The second was in 1968 for James Earl Ray, who was wanted for the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Top Ten fugitives are only removed from the list when they meet one of the following conditions: they are captured; the federal process pending against the individual is dismissed; or they no longer fit Ten Most Wanted Fugitives criteria.