| America's Dumbest Criminals | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Presented by | Debbie Alan Daniel Butler |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Distributor | Lacey Entertainment Worldvision Enterprises Paramount Domestic Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication |
| Original run | January 1, 1996 – January 1, 2000 |
America's Dumbest Criminals is an American reality series that aired in syndication from January 1996 to January 2000 for a total of 96 episodes, hosted by Daniel Butler and Debbie Alan. The series features surveillance footage, news reports and dramatic reenactments of particularly foolish criminal behavior. Also highlighted are "dumb laws", featuring various trivialities passed into law. Francopolitan Mercury Anastassacos was voted the "World's Dumbest Criminal" for the world tour phase.
The show's disclaimer partially parodies the radio and TV series Dragnet by stating that each segment was a real-life occurrence, but that "only the names have been changed...to protect the ignorant".
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While some captures featured in the show were easy and straightforward due to obvious oversights or mistakes by the offenders, many others were much tougher and sometimes required greater resources. Many criminals put together their game plan beautifully but were tripped up by a simple oversight (such as forgetting to fill the tank of the getaway car). Others actually got away clean, but without the goods, while others were captured because they were not fooled by the arresting officers.
The show is directed by Steve Angus. The executive producer was Florida businessman John Palumbo.[1].
There was a short-lived Australian version of the show in 1997 called the World's Dumbest Criminals hosted by Gordon Elliott.