Fugitive Watch founders Scott Castruita & Steve Ferdin in a promotional poster.
Fugitive Watch was founded in 1992 by two bay area police officers, Steve Ferdin and Scott Castruita. Fugitive Watch is a reality-based television show, newspaper and web site, Fugitive.com. It features exciting stories on crimes and fugitives. Fugitive Watch has been credited with over 1,000 captures or solving of crimes. It has successfully combined law enforcement, local business and the community into an effective crime-fighting tool. As one law enforcement official stated, “Because of Fugitive Watch, there are thousands of more eyes on the lookout for fugitives”. Fugitive Watch has been featured on all the local news programs, newspapers and in nationally televised programs like World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Inside Edition and Unsolved Mysteries. They have also televised Spanish language stories and have been featured in local Spanish language newscasts as well as international television programs like “Primer Impacto”. Fugitive Watch has been endorsed and commended by California Governor Pete Wilson, the FBI and all the bay area chief’s of police and sheriff’s.
Fugitive Watch founders Steve Ferdin & Scott Castruita with Comcast producer Emerson Dong in 1995.
FUGITIVE WATCH MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of FUGITIVE WATCH is to make our community safer by helping law enforcement fight crime. Fugitive Watch brings the community, local business and law enforcement together to solve crimes, apprehend wanted fugitives and provide crime prevention information to the community.
History of the Mission Statement
Fugitive Watch founders Steve Ferdin & Scott Castruita in a special feature of the San Jose Mercury Newspaper 1993.
FUGITIVE WATCH began in 1992 as the result of the vision from two San jose police officers, Steve Ferdin and Scott Castruita. As experienced police officers they realized that there existed a major problem with fugitives committing crimes and victimizing the community. It was obvious to officers Ferdin and Castruita that had these fugitives already been apprehended, scores of crimes could be prevented and untold number of victims spared from violent crime. As police officers they developed a passion for tracking down fugitives and surmised that they could put thousands of more eyes on the lookout by publicizing the names and photos of the fugitives to the community . FUGITIVE WATCH has taken the old ineffective Post Office Wanted Posters into 21st century. FUGITIVE WATCH provides three medias, a television program, newspaper and web site, to disseminate information about unsolved crimes, wanted persons and community information.
San Jose Police Officer Steve Ferdin on foot patrol in the Poco Way Apartment Complex in 1984
Silicon Valley has the distinction of being the birthplace of the first and only program in the world with such an extensive community based media anti-crime program in FUGITIVE WATCH.
San Jose Police Officer Steve Ferdin helping Fugitive Watch's Officer Gator at a children safety fair.
FUGITIVE WATCH has been warmly received by the community and experienced tremendous results by success fully bringing together local business, the community and law enforcement into a powerful grass roots crime fighting tool. Business and private sponsorship helps FUGITIVE WATCH empower the community to strike back at crime from the safety of their living rooms. FUGITIVE WATCH has been credited by law enforcement withover 1,000 crimes solved or fugitives apprehended.
FUGITIVE WATCH also helps improve the safety of police officers by locating fugitives for law enforcement so they can more safely arrest them rather than unexpectedly running across them through extremely dangerous routine “chance encounters”.
