SilkySifaka
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This is a world that constantly generates new politically correct terms to soften any distasteful bluntness that the idioms of old like the word suspect may have historically taken on. The term person of interest was coined to mean someone the police cannot currently charge with committing a certain crime but about whom they continue to diligently watch and investigate in order to access the proof they need to either charge them with the crime or at minimum require that they involuntarily answer questions related to the crime. When a violent crime happens the police will consider everyone and anyone as a potential suspect. But it is their favorite suspects, the ones on which they focus the most of their unwanted attentions, which they will care to deem as persons of interest whenever a local news reporter or a satellite TV camera man should ask them.
http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.co...se/person-interest-vs-suspectâwhatâs-differ
"Person of interest" is a phrase used by law enforcement when announcing the name of someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. The phrase was adopted by the media and widely disseminated, thus most law enforcement agencies have picked up the term. It has no legal meaning, but it is a "catchy" term. "Law enforcement officials say that the term simply reflects the new tactics required to fight terrorism. But some legal scholars say officials are trying to create a more benign public image, even as their power expands."[1] While terms such as suspect, target, and material witness have clear and sometimes formal definitions, person of interest remains undefined by the U.S. Department of Justice.[2] It is often used as a euphemism for suspect, and can sometimes result in a trial by media.
Person of interest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suspect and "Person of Interest" is the same thing.
IIRC POI really picked up steam after the Richard Jewel case (atlanta bombing). When LE was sued and lost for calling him a suspect publicly they jumped on a different term where they could say "we didn't name him a suspect".