Investigation Requested
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:00
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Remco Andringa
editor Police and Justice
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Remco Andringa
editor Police and Justice
After an intensive manhunt, the police arrested 24-year-old murder suspect Bretly D. from Rotterdam in October last year. His trial starts today.
Justice suspects that D. shot dead a man from Rotterdam during a date and then set his apartment on fire. More than a week later, still on the run, he allegedly tried to strangle a man in Zutphen.
The Public Prosecution Service offered a reward of 25,000 euros to find Bretly D. A call to look for the suspect throughout the Netherlands had results: he was arrested in an Amsterdam hotel almost two weeks after the murder.
The public’s help is not always requested during a search for a suspect. Every situation is different and requires its own approach, says Raymond Kolsteren, TGO leader at the Rotterdam police. Tgo stands for Large-Scale Investigation Team, the group of detectives and specialists assigned to a murder case.
“You always have to choose between tactics that you can use,” says Kolsteren, who was also involved in the search for Bretly D in the initial phase. “There is no blueprint of a search.”
Screening
Of course, there are steps that the police always go through, such as requesting telephone records and camera images near the crime scene. “You look to see whether a possible suspect can be seen and whether there are any striking license plate registrations.”
Through such investigative work, Bretly D. also came into the picture after a few days. Someone who stabbed a man during a date at the age of 15 and was sentenced to juvenile detention for that.
Once the police have a suspect in their sights, they are vetted as quickly as possible to determine where he might be. What stands out about the suspect? Can you think of any places he could go?
“You try to get into the suspect’s head,” Kolsteren explains. A question he regularly asks himself: what would I do in his case? “It’s often a bit of cold ground psychology.”
Silent SMS
A description is distributed within the police, so that every officer on the street can look out for the suspect. Also important: place family and friends under tap or observe. “When you are on the run, you usually need help,” says Kolsteren. “You often see that a suspect approaches someone from his social network for this.”
In addition, bank details can be a good source of information. Anyone who withdraws money anywhere is immediately exposed.
The police can also use special investigative resources. A clever trick, for example, is a ‘silent text message’ to the suspect to see which cell tower he is beaming to in order to determine the area where he is located.
If you have someone with a fairly general description, the tips will drive you crazy.
Raymond Kolsteren, detective
A difficult question is when the police reveal the identity of a suspect and ask for the public’s help. In the Bretly D. case, the Public Prosecution Service decided to do this after a second violent incident in Zutphen.
“If you decide to go public, the search becomes uncontrollable,” Kolsteren knows. “If you have someone with a fairly general description, the tips drive you crazy.”
Hundreds of tips also came in about Bretly D. in a short time, from all over the Netherlands. All those people thought they had seen him somewhere. “You have to separate the wheat from the chaff and that can overwhelm you with work.”
The police also do not want to scare people unnecessarily. “If you say: there is a very dangerous murderer on the loose, it can give you an unsafe feeling. On the other hand, in such a case you want to do everything you can.”
Clogged in toilet
In the case of Bretly D., the police and the judiciary no longer considered a silent search an option: he had to be found as quickly as possible to prevent more victims.
Because the police suspected that he was traveling by public transport, they were asked to pay attention at stations. “The police cannot follow the cameras live from all stations in the Netherlands,” Kolsteren explains the call.
What the police can do is check camera images after someone thinks they have seen the suspect. This is how the police found out that Bretly D. had traveled to Amsterdam. Tips that he was walking around the center also turned out to be correct. Police were eventually able to catch him after he fled into a hotel and hid in the toilet.
String
No matter how a suspect tackles it, he will eventually be caught, according to Kolsteren. “I’ve never had a case where someone went missing. You always have a string you can pull.”
Today there is a first hearing in Rotterdam in the case against D., who will probably not be present. The Public Prosecution Service will decide shortly whether the tip money of 25,000 euros will be paid out in the case.
2024-01-31 05:00:04
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