From the other point of view, the abundance of stories when the high-profile criminal was catched doing something stupid, and the relative absence of ones when the criminal was catched in some clever way may mean the law enforcement is doing their job poorly.

▲ Polizeiposaune 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

Operation Flagship in 1985 was one of the clever ones -- US marshalls nabbed 101 wanted fugitives on a single day at a stadium, where they were expecting to receive two free tickets to an NFL game...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flagship

▲ ghostpepper 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

This must have been the inspiration for the Simpsons bit where the police set up a sting by offering a free boat giveaway

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJKHw_CNYP4

	▲	technothrasher 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		I recall an old episode of "COPS" from years ago where they showed an ongoing sting they had where they called people with warrants and told them they'd won a big screen TV and to come down to the warehouse to get it.

▲ letmetweakit 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

How do you invite the fugitives to such an event? If you know how to reach them you can probably arrest them no?

	▲	4gotunameagain 4 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The article mentions: `..mail invitations to the last known addresses of approximately 3,000 wanted persons.` It is presumably much more efficient and effective use of resources to try and gather them in the same place, than individually surveilling 3,000 houses.
	▲	rtsil 4 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> For the marshals, arresting fugitives while away from home was significantly safer as they are often caught unarmed and off-guard.

▲ BolexNOLA 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> At least half of the 3,309 fugitives arrested in FIST VII were later released on bail

Lmfao god bless America right?

That reminds me of one of my favorite lines in one of my favorite movies, Thank You for Smoking. seriously if you are reading this and have not watched it, stop what you’re doing and go watch it right now.

Nick Naylor’s (a tobacco lobbyist) son asks, “dad, why is America the greatest country in the world?” Nick is reading something, doesn’t look up and takes a slight beat to think about it, then just calmly responds, “our endless appeal system.”

That movie is unbelievable. I know out of context that line just seems like edge lord nonsense, but Aaron Eckhardt (sp?) just sells it so hard.

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toyg 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

> our endless appeal system

Mr Naylor's clearly never got involved with Italian justice, where the average criminal trial takes 4 and a half years as it goes through 3 judgement levels (the first sentence alone is likely to take more than a year). By law, a "reasonable" process is expected to take up to 6 years.

As far as I can see, most criminal cases in the US are completed in less than a year.

	▲	BolexNOLA 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Yes and no. It reeeally depends on the nature/scale of the crime and the kind of defense they can mount (I.e. can they afford excellent lawyers/have deep pockets).

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cwillu 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I'm curious what you think “released on bail” means?

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Aurornis 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

What’s confusing about it?

Bail is typically only granted to those who are not deemed substantial flight risks. Capturing fugitives and then turning around and releasing them on bail is ironic.

	▲	4 days ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

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jojobas 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Released to the general population with monitoring measures often inadequate to prevent disappearance or guarantee court appearances.

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BolexNOLA 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

That’s a really poorly obscured way of saying “you don’t know what that means.”

I know what posting bail means. I don’t need to explain it to you to prove it. I was just chuckling about TYFS at the end of the day.

▲ cbsmith 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

s/catched/caught/g