Gang Busters Old Time Radio Program
"Now in cooperation with police and federal law enforcement departments throughout the United States. The only national program that brings you authentic police case histories."

The show was created by Philip H. Lord, who wanted to create a thoroughly authentic series about the government’s fight against crime. Lord was able to get the cooperation of the FBI, in the person of J. Edgar Hoover, for the show. Hoover allowed the show to use the FBI’s closed case files for material, as long as the FBI approved of the scripts for the episodes.

Each episode started with an interview between Lord and the law enforcement agent involved with the case. The interview would set the premise for the episode, then the interview voices would fade out and the dramatization would begin. (As a completely useless bit of trivia, Colonel Norman Schwarzkopf – the father of General Schwarzkopf from the Persian Gulf War, later conducted the interviews.)

The tone and atmosphere of the show was quite violent. The very first episode was a dramatization of the FBI shootout with John Dillinger. Sounds effects were expertly used to convey the violence of the story: broken glass, a burglar alarm, police siren, rounds from a shotgun, etc. Even though the show used the case files from law enforcement, the stories were usually told from the criminal’s point of view. As one might expect from a show approved by the FBI, the message of each episode is "CRIME DOES NOT PAY", this message to the listener is as subtle as a cop’s billyclub to the throat.

One of the most popular features of the show is the "Gang Busters Clues" segment. During this period of the show, the listener would hear about real criminals wanted by the police or FBI, giving out a physical description of the alleged criminal and information about their case. The "Clues" led to the capture of 286 most wanted; similar to the tv show "America’s Most Wanted."

The show switched networks and sponsors, but was last aired in 1957 on the Mutual Network, the show spanned almost the entire period of Old Time Radio. The radio show was turned into a movie serial, a television show, and the tv show was re-edited to become two feature length movies: "Gang Busters" and "Guns Don’t Argue."