Our View: Police should beware of holding a murder hunt in public

EVERYONE would have liked to congratulate the police for the way investigations into the murder of Andis Hadjicostis have been conducted. After 12 months of unrelenting negative publicity the force desperately needed a break, something that would help restore shattered public confidence. Solving a high profile case like the Hadjicostis murder would have silenced the police’s critics and helped rebuild the force’s tarnished reputation.
Needless to say, the police do not seem very close to solving the above-mentioned case, despite the remand of three suspects three days after the murder, and the search for a fourth. There is obviously a lot more work to be done before the case is taken to court and the possibility that the detained suspects had nothing to do with the murder cannot be ruled out, given the unsubstantiated claims made by police at the remand hearing.
It appears that the police command, stung by the public comments about lawlessness and the law of the jungle, felt under pressure to produce results speedily. But conducting the investigation in public, informing the media about every step taken and every planned move was very unprofessional. News reports, about the police being on the verge of making arrests, of needing court permission to inspect phone-call records and of looking for a vital piece of information defied belief.
What purpose did the live commentary on the police investigation serve, other than to warn the murderers to cover their tracks and flee the country? The police did not care to safeguard the ability to use the element of surprise against potential suspects because they were announcing every move on the radio and in the newspapers. This led to the ludicrous situation of a fourth man, wanted for questioning in connection with the murder, fleeing abroad and having conversations about his innocence with journalists on air. He claimed that he and the three men in custody had been framed by a crime gang!
The investigation has turned into a bit of a farce, but the good news is that police command has finally realised this. Yesterday, the police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos called a news conference at which he announced a new communications strategy – the police would communicate any information about the murder through written statements. Presumably, officers who were leaking information to the media have been ordered to keep quiet. Katsounotos avoided answering any questions yesterday, urging journalists to exercise restraint because their reports were undermining the investigations.
This was a bit rich, considering the lack of restraint shown by the spokesman over the previous week. At least the police have recognised the error of their ways and will act more professionally from now on. We hope it is not too late, because there is a real danger that the thoughtless publicity of the last week may have eliminated any chance of bringing the murderer to justice.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.