1. I’m Steve Ember. And I’m Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. This list includes a picture and description of people suspected of crimes so that the public can help provide information leading to their arrest.
2. The idea was that if the public knew what a criminal looked like, it would be harder for that person to hide. Since its beginnings sixty years ago, four hundred ninety-four criminals have been placed on the “Top Ten List.” Four hundred and sixty-three of these criminals have been found. Today we tell about this special list. And we visit a museum in Washington that helps people learn more about crimes and investigations.
3. The beginning of the “Ten Most Wanted” list dates to nineteen forty-nine. A reporter for United Press International called the FBI and asked them for the names of the “toughest guys” that the agency wanted to capture. The FBI provided the reporter with a list of ten criminals it believed to be the most dangerous.
4. This list was then published on the front page of the Washington Daily News. The list received wide public attention. And the help of the American public soon led to several arrests. The director of the FBI at the time, J. Edgar Hoover, made the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list a permanent program in nineteen fifty.
5. Over the years, the kinds of criminals on the list have changed. During the nineteen fifties, the “Top Ten” list mostly included escaped prisoners, suspected murderers or people who stole money from banks. During the nineteen sixties, the list included kidnappers, criminals suspected of sabotage and those who stole government property.
6. Today, the list includes people suspected of crimes including terrorism, drug dealing, financial wrongdoing and murder. The most widely known person currently on the list is al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
7. A suspect must meet two requirements to be on the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. He or she must be considered a threat to society. And, the FBI must believe that wide publicity about the criminal might help lead to an arrest.
8. A suspect is removed from the list if he or she is captured, found dead or surrenders. Suspects can also be removed from the list if the federal case against them is dismissed or if they are no longer believed to meet the “Top Ten” requirements. Once a suspect is removed, a new suspect is placed on the list.
9. The first woman to be on the “Top Ten” list was Ruth Eisemann-Schier. In nineteen sixty-eight she and her boyfriend kidnapped a wealthy young woman in the state of Georgia. After committing the crime, Eisemann-Schier fled the area. She changed her name and moved to the state of Oklahoma.
10. But she applied for a job that required the prints of her fingertips be taken. An official noted that her fingerprints matched those of a wanted criminal. Eisemann-Schier was arrested. She admitted she was guilty of the crime and was sentenced to seven years in prison. She served four years, then was sent back to her native country of Honduras. So far, eight “Top Ten” suspects have been women.
11. The FBI has studied how “Top Ten” criminals have been caught over the past twenty years. It says citizen cooperation after publicity about the crime has resulted in the capture of about forty percent of the suspected criminals. The agency says the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program uses many kinds of media to gain public attention. These include newspapers, wanted signs, and television news and crime shows. Of these, the popular television show “America’s Most Wanted” is responsible for the largest number of criminals captured.
12. To learn more about crime investigation, we visited the National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington. A lawyer and businessman from Florida, John Morgan, owns and operates the museum. He was influenced to open the museum after a visit to Alcatraz prison in San Francisco, California. Mister Morgan opened the museum in partnership with John Walsh. He is the host of the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”
13. Parts of this program are recorded in a studio in the Museum of Crime and Punishment. “America’s Most Wanted” tells about people who are suspected of crimes. People watching the show are asked to telephone if they have information that could help capture the criminals.
14. The Museum of Crime and Punishment has exhibits that explain how experts gather evidence at the place where a crime is committed. Some of the professionals who examine evidence gathered during criminal investigations are called forensic scientists. These experts use chemistry, physics, anthropology, biology and other sciences to study the clues surrounding a crime. This evidence can be used by investigators who are working to solve the crime and as proof in a court of law.
Vocabulary
- against = contra
- applied for = candidatou-se a
- arrest = prisão
- asked = pediu
- beginnings = início
- caught = apanhados
- citizen = cidadão
- clues = pistas
- currently = atualmente
- dates to = data de
- dismissed = indeferido
- drug dealing = tráfico de drogas
- During = durante
- escaped = fugitive
- exhibits = exposições
- explain = explicam
- Federal Bureau of Investigation = FBI
- fingertips = digitais
- fled = fugiu (presente = “flee”)
- forensic = forense
- found dead = declarado morto
- gain = conquistar
- gather = coletam, reúnem
- guilty = culpado(a)
- harder = mais difícil
- hide = esconder-se
- host = anfitrião
- kidnappers = sequestradores
- kinds of = tipos de
- knew = soubesse
- lawyer = executive
- learn = aprender
- led to = levou a
- looked like = parecia
- marks = marca
- matched = combinavam
- might = pode (possibilidade)
- mostly = na sua maior parte
- murderers = assassinos
- must meet = deve satisfazer
- no longer = não mais
- Over the years = Ao longo dos anos
- owns = possui
- partnership = parceria
- placed = colocado
- proof = prova
- property = propriedade
- provide = fornecer
- Punishment = punição
- received = recebeu
- removed = retirado
- requirements = exigencies
- sent back = enviado(a) de volta
- several = vários(as)
- signs = placas
- Since = desde
- sixtieth = sexagésimo
- So far = até agora
- so that = para que
- solve = solucionar
- stole = roubaram
- surrenders = se rende
- surrounding = que estão ao redor de
- taken = tirados
- Ten Most Wanted = dez mais procurados
- the most dangerous = os mais perigosos
- threat = ameaça
- toughest guys = caras mais durões
- wealthy = rico(a)
- wide = amplo(a)
- widely known = amplamente conhecido(a)
- Wrongdoing = infração
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