JR8 wrote:Calling for witnesses, yet in a country that perhaps has more ID-trail/CCTV/GSM-tracking than any other they haven't released even released a photofit/CCTV pic of the alleged perp. How odd
Not odd. Police routinely withhold information from the public, especially in the early stages, especially in high profile cases, in order to filter out unreliable witnesses. Genuine witnesses are able to provide non-public information.
The perpetrators are also members of the public, and there's sometimes merit in not letting them know what the police already know. For example, if the perpetrators know the police have details about their appearances they might attempt to adjust their appearances in certain, specific ways. There's also merit in not sharing information that could put witnesses at risk. It's fairly common, at least in other countries, for perpetrators
to silence potential witnesses. Sometimes the police even release false information in order to encourage the perpetrators to behave a certain way that might make it easier to catch them.
On top of all that, defense attorneys at trial can (and should) exploit natural inconsistencies, rumors, and misdirections that are common in early phases of investigations. The police have an interest in avoiding such problems.
It's all very common, very typical police behavior among highly competent police organizations around the world. I'm not at all surprised.
