The Hunting Party is a procedural crime drama starring Melissa Roxburgh as FBI Special Agent Rebecca “Bex” Henderson, a criminal profiler.
Premise: A small team of investigators is assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers ever seen, all of whom have just escaped from The Pit, a top-secret underground prison silo in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
I used to review TV series and movies about what they got right or wrong regarding the FBI. However, recognizing many shows’ entertainment value despite their FBI inaccuracies, I changed my review style from critique to education, focusing on finding teachable moments about FBI policies, programs, and procedures.
I know The Hunting Party is fiction, and that fiction is defined as something that is invented or untrue that describes imaginary events and people. But damn! I wish the writers had done a bit of research when creating the series. A touch of reality would have made the show more plausible for us law enforcement types.
The show was entertaining enough for me to binge-watch (courtesy of the fast-forward button) most of the ten-episode season. The FBI teachable moment I selected from watching the TV series is federal prisoner escape procedures.
In The Hunting Party, a task force is assembled with the primary mission of recapturing the unknown number of sociopaths who escaped The PIT.
The task force comprises Bex – a reinstated FBI agent profiler, Ryan – a CIA agent, Oliver – the warden of The Pit who is a former FBI agent, Shane – a PIT prison guard, and the United States Army. Right away, I wondered why the CIA and Army were on the task force. Neither organization has law enforcement or investigative responsibilities related to federal fugitives. We never got a proper explanation for their presence.
However, invitations to The Hunting Party task force were not extended to two key agencies that should have been included. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for taking immediate steps to capture escapees until investigative agencies assume responsibility. Along with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) also has jurisdiction for capturing escaped federal prisoners. Strangely, no agents from the BOP (unless we count Shane) nor the U.S. Marshals were members of the team.
BOP staff notifies the FBI of all escape issues. If the investigation is determined to be a USMS case, the FBI will notify the USMS. How that is determined is clarified in the policy and procedures regarding the federal jurisdiction on escape related issues established in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on June 26, 1994, between the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Secrecy is vital for The Hunting Party task force when apprehending these inmates because the government misled the public into believing that many of the serial killers had been executed. I assume that the clandestine nature of the mission explains why no local FBI agents or law enforcement officers are called in to assist. But in real life, federal, state and local partners would work together to capture escaped federal prisoners. Calling in reinforcements would help with capturing the dangerous escapees in a timely fashion instead of waiting to track down one deranged murderer per week.
I’ve stated many times before that it is extremely difficult to produce a plausible episodic series wherein an investigation must be resolved in less than an hour. In my opinion, serial crime shows with ongoing story arcs that develop each week are much more successful.
I’ve also previously noted that serial killer genre novels, TV shows and movies are inherently inaccurate. The FBI’s involvement in serial killer cases is complicated and multi-layered, but FBI profilers are not actively involved in serial murder investigations. Their primary role is to conduct behavioral analysis and consult with case agents and investigators. It also should be noted that most serial killer cases are investigated as local murders and prosecuted in state court. Where did the PIT get all those federal serial killer prisoners?
Here are two FBI Case File Review episodes that showcase how an FBI agent tracks and captures an escaped prisoner and how an FBI agent works on a serial killer case:
125: Keith Tolhurst – Grand Canyon Prison Escapee, Tracking Dogs
276: Jonny Grusing – Serial Killer Con Man Scott Kimball
