Police departments
nationwide are
utilizing the
Internet to spread
dangerous fugitives.
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Special to Government Technology
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SOLUTION SUMMARY
PROBLEM/SITUATION: Police departments need to get information on fugitives to a wide audience quickly and inexpensively.
SOLUTION: "Most Wanted" Internet sites.
JURISDICTION: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement; Dallas County Sheriff's Office; Cincinnati, Ohio, Police Dept.; Phoenix, Ariz., Police Dept.; Miami, Fla., Police Dept.
CONTACT: The Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Web Sites Mentioned in the Article
The Federal Bureau of Investigation,
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation,
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office,
The Cincinnati Ohio Police Department,
Crime Stoppers International,
The Phoenix Arizona Police Department,
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department,
The Miami Florida Police Department,
Sgt. Nelson Andrue's Personal Web Site,
In May 1996, Leslie Rogge walked through the gates of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and into FBI and Internet history. For the first time since the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program began in 1950, a fugitive was captured with the assistance of the Internet.
Following a conviction for armed robbery in 1985, Rogge escaped from federal custody in Moscow, Idaho. While at large, authorities believe that Rogge participated in the armed robberies of banks in Arkansas and North Carolina. In 1990, the FBI added Rogge to its list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
Since 1987, the FBI has been publicizing fugitives on television. It was the public's positive response to America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries that, in 1995, led the FBI to expand its successful strategy to the Internet. Since then, the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Page has been adorned with photos of the nation's most elusive fugitives. It was viewing this Web site that led a Guatemalan Internet surfer to recognize Rogge's picture and contact authorities. A short time later, Rogge was on his way back to the United States and prison.
The FBI is not the only law enforcement entity that has recognized the crime fighting potential of the World Wide Web. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Florida's Department of Law Enforcement, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office and many other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have turned the Internet into a virtual post office wall, "tacking up" photos of suspects wanted for everything from burglary to bail jumping, check fraud to murder. Many agencies are also posting descriptions of unsolved crimes hoping that an Internet user can help break the case.
CINCINNATI
The Cincinnati, Police Department places its most elusive fugitives and difficult crimes on its home page. The wanted fugitives or witnesses to these unsolved crimes may have left the area, or perhaps the country. But the Internet provides the department with a free vehicle for broadcasting information to the world. Like many law enforcement Internet sites, Cincinnati's Web site, along with the staff and equipment necessary to create and update the page, are provided without charge. In this case, they are donated by the University of Cincinnati's Police Department.
Cincinnati's Police Department uses the Internet, as well as local newspaper, television and radio spots, as part of its Crime Stoppers program. Crime Stoppers
PHOENIX
Each month, the Phoenix, Police Department's Web site hosts suspect photos and unsolved crime descriptions as part of their Silent Witness program. Similar to Crime Stoppers, Silent Witness offers rewards up to $1,000 for information about a crime. Sgt. Jeff Halstead of Silent Witness said it is difficult to know whether the Internet site has actually been responsible for solving a crime or capturing a fugitive because the information given on the Web page is also posted in Phoenix newspapers and aired on local radio and television. In addition, Silent Witness callers are anonymous, identified only by number and no attempt is made to determine the identity of the callers or which media prompted their call.
However, Sgt. Halstead did say that when he receives information about a fugitive living outside the area, he wonders whether the Internet sparked the call. He knows that people are visiting the site because he often receives calls from Internet users with questions about the site and when it will be updated.
Although the Internet is the ideal platform for displaying descriptions and pictures of wanted fugitives, many law enforcement agencies are not content simply using the Internet as a bulletin board for wanted posters. For example, besides displaying fugitive photos, the Phoenix Police Department's page also includes crime prevention tips and a picture of Blue By You -- the fastest police car in Arizona and a tool the department uses as part of its youth outreach program.
NASHVILLE
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's home page, rated in the top 5 percent of all Web sites, is a public safety smorgasbord. Visitors have access to an array of public safety and self-protection information. They can take a test to assess their vulnerability to crime or access an online guide to organizing a Neighborhood Watch program. The site also contains color photos of Nashville's 10 Most Wanted, a multimedia violence-reduction game and an audio clip of police communications during an actual car chase.
MIAMI
The Miami Police Department has an Internet site, but it does not use the site to pursue wanted fugitives. So, when Homicide Sgt. Nelson Andrue learned that two men suspected of robbing and murdering a Miami K-9 officer's mother had left the area and possibly fled to Mexico, he put their photos on his personal Web site -- the unofficial home page of the Miami Police Department. The suspects were featured on America's Most Wanted and the program directed viewers to his Internet site. The suspects were later captured in South America.
If the Miami Police Department learns that a homicide suspect has moved to a different state, it will contact local law enforcement officials in that area. Usually, the local police department will request a picture of the suspect. In the past, the only option was to fax a picture of the suspect. The problem with this approach is the low quality of faxed pictures. Now, according to Sgt. Andrue, the department can attach a digitized copy of a suspect's photo to a wanted bulletin and send it via e-mail to police departments throughout the country. The picture quality is much better than a faxed copy, especially if it is printed on a high-quality laser printer. Soon, Sgt. Andrue hopes that Internet users can browse suspect photos on the Miami Police Department's official Web site.
These are only a few examples of the hundreds of law enforcement agencies using the Internet in the war against crime. While Internet crimes continue to make headlines, almost without notice, the Internet has become a powerful crime-fighting tool. Today, the Internet is helping to catch fugitives, solve crimes and make our streets a little safer. Leslie Rogge may have been the first of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives captured due to Internet publicity, but he definitely will not be the last.
James Wolf is an assistant professor of computer information systems at Cedarville College (Cedarville, Ohio), and has a Master's degree in Management Information Systems from George Washington University.
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