A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, a government

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known as a wanted person, can be a person who is either convicted or accused of a crime and hiding from law enforcement in the state or taking refuge in a different country in order to avoid arrest. A fugitive from justice alternatively has been defined as a person formally charged with a crime or a convicted criminal whose punishment has not yet been determined or fully served who is currently beyond the custody or control of the national or sub-national government or international criminal tribunal with an interest in their arrest. This latter definition adopts the perspective of the pursuing government or tribunal, recognizing that the charged (versus escaped) individual does not necessarily realize that they are officially a wanted person (e.g., due to a case of mistaken identity or reliance on a sealed indictment), and therefore may not be fleeing, hiding, or taking refuge to avoid arrest. The fugitive from justice is ‘international’ (versus ‘domestic’) if wanted by law enforcement authorities across a national border. Interpol is the international organization with no legal authority to directly pursue or detain fugitives of any kind. Europol is the European authority for the pursuit of fugitives who are on the run within Europe, and coordinates their search, while national authorities in the probable country of their stay coordinate their arrest. In the United States, the

U.S. Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

is the primary

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

that tracks down federal fugitives, though the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

also tracks fugitives. As a verbal metaphor and psychological concept, one might also be described as a "fugitive from oneself". The literary sense of "fugitive" includes the meaning of simply "fleeing". In many jurisdictions, a fugitive who flees custody while a trial is underway loses the right to

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

any convictions or sentences imposed on him, since the act of fleeing is deemed to flout the court's authority. In 2003, convicted rapist Andrew Luster had his appeals denied on the basis that he spent six months as a fugitive (he was convicted ''in absentia'').

Terminology

While a person is being sought for potential arrest, the person may be described variously as being "at large" or as a "

person of interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

" to law enforcement. The latter term is frequently used in an " All-points bulletin" issued to other law enforcement persons or agencies. A person who has jumped bail after

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

in court may be hunted or pursued by his bail bondsman, and a bounty may be "on his head." The act of fleeing from the jurisdiction of a court is described colloquially as "fleeing justice" or "running from the Law." A " wanted poster" may be issued, especially by the FBI, culminating in the " FBI's Most Wanted List" of fugitives. "On the lam" or "on the run" often refers to fugitives. Mencken's '' The American Language'' and ''The Thesaurus of American Slang'' proclaim that lam, lamister, and "on the lam"—all referring to a hasty departure—were common in thieves' slang before the turn of the 20th century. Mencken quotes a newspaper report on the origin of 'lam' which actually traces it indirectly back to Shakespeare's time. Mencken also quotes a story from the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' newspaper in 1938 which reported that "one of the oldest police officers in New York said that he had heard 'on the lam' thirty years ago."

Detection methods

Various methods can be used to find fugitives. Phone taps and pen registers can be used on relatives. Credit card and cell phone activities and electronic transfer of money can also be traced. Wanted posters and rewards can also be used. Jail records are also sometimes used; for instance, after the U.S. Government determined that Timothy McVeigh had perpetrated the Oklahoma City Bombing, he was found in a local jail. Other methods include using anonymous tips from members of the public who may have seen sight of the fugitive;

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

and other modes of technology; news broadcasting of public awareness (depending on the severity of the crime the fugitive has committed), and co-operation with local law enforcement teams.

References

External links

AMW.comInterpol Wanted ListFugitives wanted by US Marshals
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727133823/https://www.usmarshals.gov/investigations/most_wanted/ , date=2021-07-27 Escape Law enforcement terminology

Terminology

Detection methods

See also

References

External links