The police hope that the social media discussion around the cases will calm down.
The police received a report again on Monday evening, according to which an unknown man had asked for a child in his car in Helsinki. This time the announcement came from Pikku Huopalahti. In the past, similar announcements have been made in the Laajasalo area.
Director of Investigation, Crime Commissioner Wanted Niskanen tells Iltalehti that the emergency center was called, after which the patrol went to Pikku Huopalahti to record the report.
The child was not touched and he did not get into the car. The identity of the suspect is not known to the police.
According to Niskanen, the case is currently under preliminary investigation, meaning the police will find out whether a crime has possibly occurred in the case.
Two previous cases
Similar cases have been bubbling up in Helsinki recently. Social media has shared plenty of alarming updates about similar cases where a grown man has tried to get a child into a car.
The first suspected crime took place in Helsinki’s Laajasalo on June 30. According to the mother, the man tried to pull her children into the car. The matter is being investigated as a mild assault. The suspect has been identified.
– The interrogation is now from the end of the week, crime commissioner Ritva Elomaa tells.
The police hope that people will exercise patience when writing on social media. Illustration picture. Inka Soverei
Another incident also happened in Laajasalo on August 8. The mother from Helsinki who filed the criminal complaint said that the man had tried to kidnap her 10-year-old daughter. The girl got out of the man’s grip by biting his hand.
In connection with this case, the police have received plenty of tips about the man, but a suitable person has not been identified and found. The only thing that is certain is that the suspect is not the same as in the previous Laajasalo case.
– He could not have been the perpetrator, comments Elomaa briefly.
The police are rolling
Although Elomaa understands people’s concerns, he hopes that the discussion will calm down. The police have also received tips about a white van, which is said to be related to the August event in Laajasalo.
– For example, this past week, white vans were reported as if it were a crime for a person to have a white van to move around East Helsinki. That’s where we’re going down the wrong path. Certainly the idea is good, but it incites such thought structures that a white van or telling a child would be a bad thing. Being afraid of everything is not in anyone’s interest, says Elomaa.
The police urges those who find themselves in similar situations to contact the emergency center immediately. Regarding past incidents, it is advised to file a criminal report as soon as possible.
– I am of the opinion that if observations were reported to the emergency center as soon as they were fresh, there would be less social media writing. It’s no use stirring up other people’s fears, says Elomaa.
#police #received #report #man #lured #child #car #Criminal #Commissioner #furious
