Digital billboards displaying FBI mug shots, alerts spreading across U.S.

(CNN) - Mug shots of the FBI's most-wanted criminals and fugitives will soon be displayed on more than 150 digital billboards in 20 cities as part of a joint initiative between the agency and global advertiser Clear Channel Outdoor, both parties announced this week.

The billboards, owned and operated by Phoenix-based Clear Channel Outdoor, will allow the FBI to repetitively transmit mug shots, wanted bulletins and critical security messages, according to a Clear Channel news release.

The billboards "connect the FBI with Clear Channel scheduling managers so that if the FBI needs to post an emergency message when there's a high-profile crime, they can get a hold of a scheduler and post a message on the display within minutes," said Tony Alwin, Clear Channel's senior vice president of marketing and public relations.