Wanted poster: Encyclopedia - Wanted poster

Wanted poster

A wanted poster is a poster put up to let the public know of a criminal whom authorities wish to apprehend. They will generally include either a picture of the criminal himself when a photograph is available, or of an impression produced by a police artist or of a composite image generated by other means. The poster will usually include a description of the wantee and the crime(s) with which he is charged. Wanted posters are usually produced by a police or other public government body for display in a public place, such as on a physical bulletin board or in the lobby of a post office, but in ages past wanted posters have also been produced by vigilante groups, railway security, Pinkerton's, or by express companies that have sustained a robbery.

Wanted posters for particularly notorious fugitives frequently offer a reward or bounty for the capture of the person, or for a person who can provide information leading to such capture.

Composite images for use in wanted posters can be created with various methods, including:

• E-FIT Electronic Facial Identification Technique via computer
• PhotoFIT Photographic Facial Identification Technique
• Identikit

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Wanted poster", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki