The headline-writer is very up-to-date: He/she must have thought: “Hmm, the lead says ‘almost tagged a suspect’; but we cannot use ‘near-suspect’, or ‘almost suspect’, or ‘ex-future suspect’…”
“Person of interest” is what U.S. police officers use to refer to those who are/ were included in the investigation but not officially considered a suspect; and it’s what American news agencies also use, quoting law-enforcement agencies, to protect themselves from any suit (the word “suspect” has derogatory connotation.) The term has found itself in certain U.S. criminal statutes: “Person in interest shall mean the person who is the primary subject of a criminal justice record”.
Although… I think this is still journalese or legalese or policelese/ coplese, so some journalists put it in quotes, in the same way as “LPA” or “low pressure area” is weatherlese… Now, how to translate that to Filipino… “taong may interes”? “taong pinag-iinteresan”, “taong kamuntik nang pagsuspetsahan”, “taong pwede pang pagsuspetsahan”?… take your pick.
One thought on ““Person of interest” in the Stephanie Nicole Ella case”
May I? …a “person in interest” is “taong maaring may nalalaman o kinalaman sa kaso” I’ve heard the phrase quite a few times in many American TV series such as The Closer, CSI, etc. A person in interest is definitely not considered right away as a suspect because sometimes he turns out to be an asset for the investigation.
May I? …a “person in interest” is “taong maaring may nalalaman o kinalaman sa kaso” I’ve heard the phrase quite a few times in many American TV series such as The Closer, CSI, etc. A person in interest is definitely not considered right away as a suspect because sometimes he turns out to be an asset for the investigation.