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What is a
suspect?
In criminal
justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a
crime.
Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word the suspect when
referring to the actor, or perpetrator (perp) of the offense. The
perpetrator is the robber, assailant, counterfeiter, etc. (the person
who actually committed the crime). The distinction between suspect and
perpetrator recognizes that the suspect is not known to have committed
the offense, while the perpetrator is the one who actually did.
Possibly because of the misuse of suspect to mean perpetrator, police
have begun to use person of interest to mean suspect.
Under the judicial systems of the U.S., once a decision is approved to
arrest the suspect or bind them
over for trial, either by a prosecutor issuing an information, a grand
jury issuing a true bill or indictment, or a judge issuing an
arrest warrant, the
suspect can then be properly called a defendant, or the accused.
Only after being convicted is the suspect properly called the
perpetrator. |
