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Afugitive orrunaway is a person who is fleeing fromcustody, whether it be fromjail, a governmentarrest, government or non-governmentquestioning,vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. Afugitive 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.[1]
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.[2] The fugitive from justice is ‘international’ (versus ‘domestic’) if wanted by law enforcement authorities across a national border.[3]Interpol is the international organization with no legal authority to directly pursue or detain fugitives of any kind.[4]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 theUnited States, theU.S. Marshals Service is the primarylaw enforcement agency that tracks down federal fugitives, though theFederal Bureau of Investigation 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 toappeal any convictions or sentences imposed on him, since the act of fleeing is deemed to flout the court's authority. In 2003, convicted rapistAndrew Luster had his appeals denied on the basis that he spent six months as a fugitive (he wasconvictedin absentia).[5][6][7]
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" 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 hasjumped bail afterarraignment in court may be hunted or pursued by hisbail bondsman, and abounty 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'sThe American Language andThe 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.
Its origin should be obvious to anyone who runs over several colloquial phrases for leavetaking, such as 'beat it' and 'hit the trail'. The allusion in 'lam' is to 'beat,' and 'beat it' is Old English, meaning 'to leave.' During the period of George Ade's 'Fables in Slang' (1900), cabaret society delight in talking slang, and 'lam' was current. Like many other terms, it went under in the flood of new usages of those days, but was preserved in criminal slang. A quarter of a century later it reappeared.
Mencken also quotes a story from theNew York Herald Tribune 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."
Various methods[8] can be used to find fugitives.Phone taps andpen registers can be used on relatives. Credit card and cell phone activities andelectronic transfer of money can also be traced.Wanted posters and rewards can also be used.[9] Jail records are also sometimes used; for instance, after the U.S. Government determined thatTimothy McVeigh had perpetrated theOklahoma City Bombing, hewas 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 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.
