<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject . You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate . (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject . You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate . (March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime . Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated US slang). However, in official definition, the perpetrator is the robber, assailant, counterfeiter, etc.--the person who committed the crime . The distinction between suspect and perpetrator recognizes that the suspect is not known to have committed the offense, while the perpetrator--who may not yet have been suspected of the crime, and is thus not necessarily a suspect--is the one who did . The suspect may be a different person from the perpetrator, or there may have been no actual crime, which would mean there is no perpetrator . </P> <P> A common error in police reports is a witness description of the suspect (as a witness generally describes a perpetrator, while a mug shot is of suspect). Frequently it is stated that police are looking for the suspect, when there is no suspect; the police could be looking for a suspect, but they are surely looking for the perpetrator, and very often it is impossible to tell from such a police report whether there is a suspect or not . </P>

Who is the person who commits a crime