Thursday Open Line


One of the most noted crime-fighting tools started because of a conversation at a card game between J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI and a newspaper reporter. The reporter wanted to profile some of the most wanted criminals the FBI was searching for. The resulting article caused a sensation, leading to the publication of the first “Ten Most Wanted” list by the FBI this week in 1950. In the years since, 497 men and women have appeared on the list. Of these, 467 have been apprehended or located. Across the U.S., at the end of 2011, just over 2.2 million people were in federal or state prisons or local jails. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.