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Suspect

Arrest warrant Â· Search warrant
Probable cause Â· Knock-and-announce
Exigent circumstance
Reasonable suspicion
Search and seizure Â· Search of persons
Arrest Â· Detention
Right to silence Â· Miranda warning (U.S.)
Grand jury

Criminal prosecution

Statute of limitations Â· Nolle prosequi
Bill of attainder Â· Ex post facto law
Criminal jurisdiction Â· Extradition
Habeas corpus Â· Bail
Inquisitorial system Â· Adversarial system

Charges and pleas

Arraignment Â· Information Â· Indictment
Plea Â· Peremptory plea
Nolo contendere (U.S.) Â· Plea bargain
Presentence Investigation

Related areas of law

Criminal defenses
Criminal law Â· Evidence
Civil procedure

Portals

Law Â· Criminal justice

In the parlance of 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 of the offense (perp for short). 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 has not been proven guilty. The suspect may be a different person from the perpetrator, or there may have been no actual crime.

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

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 him 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.

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