30,000 euros for the golden tip, does that help? ‘If it doesn’t help, it won’t hurt’

ANP

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 20:23

The Public Prosecution Service is offering a reward of 30,000 euros for the golden tip that leads to the arrest of the suspect in the shooting in Zwijndrecht, it was announced yesterday. For serious crimes such as these, the judiciary regularly resorts to this means. But does such a reward really get things moving?

The Public Prosecution Service is increasingly using a reward to trace someone, according to research by the Open University. “You can offer such a reward at two moments: at the beginning of an investigation, as in this case, or at the very end, if an investigation gets stuck,” says professor of criminal law Sven Brinkhoff, who conducted the research.

“The latter often happened in the past. For example, in cold case cases, as a last resort. But in recent years, the Public Prosecution Service has also tried to offer an amount of money in the hope that people will call or that noise will arise around the suspect, so that progress can be made. case comes.”

Tens of thousands of euros

From 2015 to 2020, the number of rewards increased, from fifty to an average of seventy per year. In recent years it has decreased somewhat, in 2020 there were 24. The amount varies per case from a few thousand to tens of thousands of euros.

“A specialist team is working on this,” says Brinkhoff. “They are looking at other matters, the gravity of this case.” According to him, you see an amount as now in the case of the fatal shooting in Zwijndrecht more often. “These are the amounts you see in such large cases.”

Taghi

The highest reward in an investigation case was in the case of Ridouan Taghi and Saïd R. A reward of 100,000 euros was offered for information that led to their arrest.

In other cases, the amount was even higher, for example when private individuals collected money together, says Brinkhoff. For example, crime journalist Peter R. de Vries set up a foundation to collect one million euros for a reward in the disappearance case of Tanja Groen.

Some other cases in which high rewards have been offered:

In the criminal investigation into 30-year-old Jos Leijdekkers, also known as Bolle Jos, a reward of 75,000 euros has been promised for the golden tipster. Leijdekers is also on the National Investigation List and the EU Most Wanted List.

A prize of 40,000 euros has been awarded for the golden tip in the cold case surrounding the death of 13-year-old Sedar Soares. In other murder cases or cold case cases, just like now with the Zwijndrecht case, a reward of 30,000 euros or 25,000 euros has been set.

“In serious cases such as murder or manslaughter, a reward is soon around 20,000 euros,” says a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service. “We really look at the seriousness of the crime with the height.”

But although thousands of euros are always ready for the golden tipster, the rewards are hardly ever paid out, according to Brinkhoff’s research.

The Public Prosecution Service also says that it does not often happen that someone is entitled to the set reward. Nevertheless, such a reward remains an effective tool for the judiciary. “Also under the motto: it does not benefit, it does not harm,” says a spokesperson. “Even if it only leads to something in a minority of cases, that is a good result.”

But a golden tip is not always necessary, says researcher Brinkhoff. “Even if such an amount is not paid, the mere offering of such a reward can create so much unrest around a suspect that it can lead to evidence. Indirectly, the amount of money can then lead to the detection of someone.”

This also applies to the fugitive suspect of last weekend’s shooting in Zwijndrecht. “By calling out the amount you bring a certain weight to the case, which means that he can hide less well.”

Direct of indirect effect

“Does money make people willing to talk? We did not find an answer to that in our study,” says researcher Brinkhoff. “Other considerations for talking may weigh much more heavily. It is unknown to everyone how well it really works.”

In any case, the police and the Public Prosecution Service hope to catch the suspected shooter in the case of Zwijndrecht. “Directly or indirectly, a reward can have an effect,” says Brinkhoff. Since the amount was announced, about 35 tips have been received, bringing the total to 135. “The coming days should show whether that also has an effect on this case.”

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