Suspect

Person accused or suspected of committing a crime

"Perpetrators" redirects here. For the band, see The Perpetrators. For use in genocide studies, see perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. For other uses, see Suspect (disambiguation).

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Suspect" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (February 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U.S. slang). However, in official definition, the perpetrator is the robber, assailant, counterfeiter, etc.—the person who committed the crime. The distinction between suspect and perpetrator recognizes that the suspect is not known to have committed the offense, while the perpetrator—who may not yet have been suspected of the crime, and is thus not necessarily a suspect—is the one who did. The suspect may be a different person from the perpetrator, or there may have been no actual crime, which would mean there is no perpetrator.[1]

A common error in police reports is a witness description of the suspect (as a witness generally describes a perpetrator, while a mug shot is of a suspect). Frequently it is stated that police are looking for the suspect, when there is no suspect; the police could be looking for a suspect, but they should ultimately be looking for the perpetrator, and very often it is impossible to tell from such a police report whether there is a suspect or not.

To avoid clearly labeling someone as a "suspect" or "perpetrator", police in the late 20th and early 21st century began to sometimes use the term person of interest, possible suspect, or even possible person of interest. The term "person of interest" has no clear legal meaning.[citation needed]

Under the judicial systems of the U.S., once a decision is approved to arrest a 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.

## See also

[edit]

* Arguido
* Criminal

## References

[edit]

Look up suspect or perpetrator in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Suspect Suspicious and Suspect.

1. ^ "Word Court". Theatlantic.com. July 1997. Retrieved 2012-03-19.

* v
* t
* e

Criminal procedure (investigation)

Criminal investigation|

* Arguido
* Arrest
* Arrest warrant
* Consent search
* Detention
* Exigent circumstance
* Knock-and-announce
* Miranda warning
* Pretextual stop
* Probable cause
* Reasonable suspicion
* Right to silence
* Search and seizure
* Search of persons
* Search warrant
* Suspect
* Terry stop

* Law portal

Criminal prosecution|

* Adversarial system
* Bail
* Bill of attainder
* Criminal jurisdiction
* Diversion program
* Deferred prosecution agreement
* Ex post facto law
* Extradition
* Grand jury
* Habeas corpus
* Indictment
* Inquisitorial system
* Nolle prosequi
* Precognition
* Preliminary hearing
* Statute of limitations

Charges and pleas|

* Alford plea
* Arraignment
* Indictment
* Information
* Nolo contendere
* Peremptory plea
* Plea
* Plea bargain
* Presentence investigation
* Suspended sentence

Related areas|

* Criminal defenses
* Criminal law
* Evidence
* Evidence law in the United States
* Legal abuse

* Wiktionary
* Wikibooks
* Wikiquote
* WikiSource
* Wikimedia Commons
* Wikinews
* Wikiversity

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template