I'm not sure if they still do, but the FBI used to put people on the list when they thought they were close to catching them as a PR exercise.

even from a purely operational perspective, suddenly ending up on the Top10 might make a suspect slip up...could be a viable tactic

Or, be more careful, and vanish. Purely a cynical PR ploy. FBI has a great deal to answer for. It was corrupt from day 1, and cannot shed its foundation.

As since the beginning, its main mode of operation is extortion. In Hoover days, a secret file of offenses ensured no politician could interfere with its funding or expansion. Undoubtedly, such are still kept: a docile pol is much, much more useful to them than an indicted former pol. How many federal bribery cases are brought?

For actual "law enforcement", the extortion victims are people who can be used to entrap "bigger fish". Once someone has cooperated with the FBI, threat of exposing that is effective substitute for any evidence of criminal activity. Made-up sworn testimony is the usual demand, normally against anybody not "cooperating".

We saw how mullahs were forced to run "radicalizing" groups to keep FBI supplied with terrorist perps. Usually, all weapons are supplied directly by the FBI plant, and all violence advocacy at meetings.

Local and state police agencies have been learning from crooked FBI methods for a long time.

Among recent FBI scandals is the revelation that fingerprint matches were, from earliest days, cooked. The fingerprint lab always knew what determination was wanted, and supplied that anywhere it could be made to seem to stick.

Same with all their forensic tricks: matching bullets to guns, handwriting analyses, what have you. Unbounded numbers of false convictions on fabricated evidence are just beginning to be revealed by the Innocence Project, fought tooth and nail by prosecutors.

Probably most agents were sincere when they joined. The crooked get the promotions.

Could you please provide evidence for your claims?