Our obsession with the seedier side of life shows no signs of waning – as television schedules and book charts clearly show.
It’s human nature to be morbidly curious about violent crimes such as murder and we absorb the minutest of details with both horror and fascination.
So, it’s not surprising that law enforcement agencies capitalise on our preoccupation with crime and use it to their advantage.
The best example is the The Most Wanted lists, which started out in the US but are now a staple of UK policing, too.
Criminals on the lam is nothing new and since 1950 they have published lengthy details on the men and women in the US who are considered the most dangerous fugitives – in the hope they will yield information resulting in a capture.
Many who appear on these lists have been evading law agencies for years and are probably hiding in plain sight.
Almost all are wanted for serious crimes such as murder, drug trafficking and the trafficking of human beings.
A few years ago, my attention was turned to the FBI list with the inclusion of a Scot – William Blackledge, who had been in the wind for 16 years when I managed to track him down in the south of France in 2005.
Crime gang lieutenant Blackledge, originally from Lanarkshire, had risen through the ranks to become a big boss and was importing millions of pounds worth of drugs into the US from Colombia for the powerful Cali cartel – Pablo Escobar’s main rivals.
He was the FBI’s No1 target but, sadly, despite the best efforts of US marshals to act on my discovery of his St Tropez bolthole, Blackledge, then in his late 60s, was able to disappear and has never resurfaced since.
It remains an annoying niggle in the back of my head whenever the yearly most wanted lists are released.
Another Scot is the subject of an international manhunt in connection with a one-ton cocaine haul, worth £100 million, uncovered at the port of Dover.
The National Crime Agency recently released details about Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson, who has been on the run since August 2020 when he was bailed by the courts following his arrest over a £14 million street valium factory.
The NCA believe Stevenson, 56, is in Spain and with his vast financial resources and contacts, he will be able to stay hidden for a long time.
They sent out a tough warning that they will not stop until he is re-captured.
There’s every chance some eagle-eyed member of the public will spot Stevenson and it will lead to his arrest.
Then sometimes it works the other way - and the Most Wanted from around the globe are right here in Scotland.
This month we’ve witnessed the bizarre case of Arthur Knight - one of the most wanted men in the US.
He was arrested after arriving at a Glasgow hospital allegedly suffering from Covid-19.
He was detained by Scottish cops on the order of international body Interpol, which said a warrant was out for his arrest. He now faces extradition back to the States.
The Most Wanted Lists are, in many cases, a last throw of the dice. Open it up to the public and hope armchair sleuths are up to the job and can help the long arm of the law catch some fugitives.
It turns out the public are very often well up to the task – and can be better at the job than the professionals.
Sentences for kidnap too short
A very disturbing case hit the headlines earlier this week but what caught my eye was the lenient sentences handed down.
Teenager Angel Lynn was left unable to walk, talk or feed herself after suffering life-changing injuries when she was kidnapped by ex-boyfriend Chay Bowskill, and his friend Rocco Sansome, both 20, in Loughborough, Leicestershire in September 2020.
Angel fell from the van Bowskill had dumped her from while it was doing 60mph on the motorway.
The 19-year-old now needs 24-hour care and Bowskill was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years. Sansome got 20 months.
It was said in court that it was not clear how she exited the vehicle, so Bowskill was cleared of unintentionally causing grievous bodily harm.
But he abducted an innocent young woman, threw her in a van and intended to do God knows what. Her life has now changed beyond recognition. The book should have been thrown at the pair of them.
Pointless television
DID anyone else catch Trigger Point – the new ITV crime drama by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, starring Vicky McClure as an explosives operative Lana Washington?
I wanted to love it, but... nope. The biggest giggle was a supposed bomb expert about to flick a light switch while looking for the bomb “trigger point.” My TV switch was flicked straight to off.
