# Suspect vs. Person of Interest

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-vs-person-of-interest/423223>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 18, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-vs-person-of-interest/423223 "2007-10-18T21:11:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-vs-person-of-interest/423223/1 "2007-10-18T21:11:35Z")

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I think there should be a factual answer to this…

Why do most (all?) US police departments say after a serious crime has been committed that they are looking for a “person of interest”, when they really mean they are looking for a “likely suspect”. Are there legal ramifications to calling someone a suspect prematurely? Is there a real difference between these two terms?

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-vs-person-of-interest/423223/2 "2007-10-18T21:17:43Z")

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[Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Person_of_interest) has an article on the term. Apparently, it’s a matter of some controversy legally.