Congratulations to the Washington Examiner for helping to capture the 50th “Most Wanted” fugitive. Here’s an excerpt from today’s edition with more background:

Rob Fernandez, commander of the U.S. Marshals’ Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, says The Examiner has become a valuable crime-fighting tool. The fugitives selected to appear in “Most Wanted” are generally violent offenders that the task force has been unable to find on its own. The weekly feature also helps people realize that fighting crime is a responsibility for all, Fernandez said.

“It gives people the power,” he said.

“This shows more reader engagement than I’ve seen in four decades in journalism,” said Stephen G. Smith, editor of The Washington Examiner. “Our readers have joined with us in trying to make the community safer. They’re showing that newspapers are still kicking at a time when many media critics are writing them off.”

Fighting crime is not just about enacting more laws and spending money on new government programs. News organizations in other cities should take note.