Sheriff Uses “Wheel of Fugitives” To Determine His Next Target for Arrest

Just about everybody has at one point or another seen the old “Wanted” posters placed publicly by law enforcement agencies in an effort to enlist the assistance of citizens in apprehending known fugitives from justice.

BizPac Review reported that one county sheriff in Florida has taken those posters to a hilarious and effective new level, and he has a classic TV game show to thank for inspiring him.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey takes to his department’s Facebook page every Tuesday evening at 8:00 to play “Wheel of Fugitives,” a parody of the long-running “Wheel of Fortune” game show, except Ivey’s wheel features the mugshots of his county’s 10 most-wanted fugitives.

The show begins with Ivey spinning the wheel and then sharing pertinent information with the public about whichever fugitive the wheel happens to stop on as the dubious “winner” of the week.

“We basically came up with the idea because we not only wanted to get fugitives off the street, but we wanted to engage our public, our community, and help protect our areas,” Ivey explained on Fox Business Network’s “Risk & Reward” program, according to Fox News.

“It’s worked even better than most of us thought,” Ivey said, revealing that roughly 76 percent of the fugitives featured on the show either turn themselves in or are captured within three days. Even some of those whose mugshots appear on the wheel but aren’t the unlucky “winner” have been caught or turned themselves in after being noticed.

“It’s really been very engaging for the community,” said Ivey, adding that the wanted criminals sometimes even engage with the social media postings. “Hardly anywhere we go, somebody doesn’t say, ‘I watch ‘Wheel of Fugitive’ every Tuesday night.’”

You can watch the Fox Business report here:

This is a clever and an excellent method for engaging with the law-abiding citizens in the community, raising their awareness and securing their help.

It will be interesting to see if other sheriffs or police chiefs around the country adopt similar tactics.

http://conservativetribune.com/florida-sheriff-wheel-of-fugitives/