Saturday, October 07, 2006
NO PURPOSE SERVED
Sydney’s devious men of no appearance miraculously re-appear:
A gang of robbers has held up two men at gunpoint before stealing their car in Sydney’s west ...
Police say the robbers were all aged in their mid 20s.
The armed man was described as thin with broad shoulders and a goatee beard, wearing a blue baseball cap, a white long-sleeve hooded jumper and grey tracksuit trousers with a yellow stripe down each side.
The descriptions issued by police offer more information:
The first is described as being of Middle Eastern appearance, aged about 25 or 26, dark complexion, 178cm to 183cm, thin build with broad shoulders and a goatee. He was wearing a blue baseball cap with white writing on the front, a white long sleeve jumper with a hood and grey tracksuit pants with a yellow stripe down each side. He was last seen in possession of a black firearm.
The second male is described as being of Middle Eastern appearance, aged 24 or 25, short dark brown spikey hair, skinny build and a had a goatee. He was seen wearing dark clothing and a thick gold chain around his neck.
The third man is described as being of Middle Eastern appearance, aged 24 or 25, obese and a few day’s facial hair growth. The fourth and fifth males are described as being of Middle Eastern appearance, aged in their mid 20s and wearing dark clothing.
Via reader Frank A., who emailed the Sydney Morning Herald about its no-appearance policy (the piece was orginally sourced from AAP, whose copy mentioned “Middle Eastern appearance” when published by other outlets). He received this reply:
Thank you for your comments about the article, “Gunpoint carjacking at traffic lights”.
In a city such as Sydney, the Herald’s view is that ethnic descriptions are only of much use in helping potential witnesses identify suspects if they are part of a full description, which includes clothing, build, hair colour, distinguishing features and so on.
The SMH had all that. Clothing: “Blue baseball cap, a white long-sleeve hooded jumper and grey tracksuit trousers with a yellow stripe down each side.” Build: “Thin with broad shoulders.” Distinguishing features: “Goatee beard.” So why delete ethnic details? The email continues:
With such a large population in Sydney, a description such as, “the suspects are 175cm tall, clean shaven and of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance”, hardly narrows it down and serves no purpose. In some cases the Herald does publish descriptions of alleged suspects’ ethnicity if police feel that their investigation would be aided by such a report. This is an exception, however, rather than the rule.
Here’s an SMH exception:
Police are searching for a man described as being of white/European appearance, aged 25 to 30, with a large build and wearing a dark tracksuit and blue baseball cap.
Really “narrowing it down”, guys.