[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    BILLBOARDS AS ``WANTED'' POSTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 21, 2009

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, in 2006, I brought to the attention of 
the House of Representatives the use of billboards as ``wanted'' 
posters. Since then, donated billboards have become a common tool for 
law enforcement, including the new digital billboards that can be 
changed quickly via computer.
  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been a pioneer in the 
use of digital billboards to help apprehend suspected criminals. After 
initial success in Philadelphia, the FBI has been using digital 
billboards across the country. To date, 18 fugitives have been 
apprehended because they were featured on these high-tech ``wanted'' 
signs.
  On March 20, 2009, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller presented a 2008 
Director's Community Leadership Award to Clear Channel Outdoor, Lamar 
Advertising, Adams Outdoor Advertising and the Outdoor Advertising 
Association of Georgia. Together, these entities provide access to more 
than 1,000 digital billboards to the FBI.
  Director Mueller said to those receiving the awards: ``Whatever the 
motivation--an unfilled need, a tragic occurrence, a desire to give 
back--these are people who make things happen and enlist others in 
their cause. They are activists who have earned their prestige through 
good works.''
  The FBI cites these cases:

       On November 12, 2008, Richard Franklin Wiggins, Jr., was 
     arrested for money laundering and for ties to a drug 
     trafficking organization--just three weeks after both Lamar 
     Advertising and Adams Outdoor ran his image on their digital 
     billboards in the Norfolk, Virginia area. Wiggins reportedly 
     turned himself in at the insistence of his family and 
     friends.
       On October 24, 2008, Walter Haskell was arrested for an 
     armed robbery in New Jersey that he had committed several 
     months earlier. After the robbery, he fled to Minnesota. His 
     image was plastered on digital billboards across the state, 
     generating tips that led to his apprehension. ``If we have a 
     crack at over a quarter-million people seeing that photo 
     every day, then we have a very good chance at catching the 
     person we're after,'' said Special Agent Sean Quinn, a 
     spokesman for the FBI in Newark. ``The exposure gets us 
     started.''
       On November 9, 2008, Christopher Ellis was apprehended for 
     a multi-state crime spree that included a bank robbery in 
     Kentucky, a kidnapping and carjacking in Georgia, and a home 
     invasion in Tennessee. Our partners placed a photo of Ellis 
     and the truck he was driving on billboards in multiple states 
     across the region. The publicity generated by the digital 
     billboards contributed to a larger campaign which generated 
     the tip that led to his arrest.

  As I pointed out in 2006, ``wanted'' posters are part of American 
history, including the pictures I saw in the United States Post Office 
growing up in Chisholm, MN. The success story of ``wanted'' 
billboards--and the recent recognition from the FBI--serves to remind 
us that outdoor advertising is a significant medium of communication.
  Madam Speaker, I close with a summation that appears on the website 
of the FBI: ``Long story short: the billboards are working and working 
well. And that means a safer America for all.''

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