Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): Hit and run: THE PERFECT CRIME?.
The title of the article ends with a question mark. It will be the crime of murder by trampling, the perfect crime? As always I mean, there is no perfect crime, there are good or bad investigations, but with respect to the trampling, There are several variants, that can become the perfect crime.
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
During my professional career I was confronted with various situations unfortunately hit and run, of which resulted fatalities, I remember being particularly two, because they were resolved and managed to identify the driver who caused the trampling, knowing however that is not always so.
I bring this matter to LN by reason of the Morning Post News 27 January with the title "GNR recorded over 3.600 running over pedestrians in the last two years", where it is stated that " National Republican Guard (GNR) recorded between 2015 and 2016, in mainland Portugal, 3.618 running over pedestrians, an average of five pedestrians per day".
Public on its edition of The 27 January also addressed the subject in the article "GNR recorded over 3.600 running over pedestrians in the last two years", stating that "GNR believes that run over pedestrians have a significant impact on road accidents and pedestrian accidents that followed from the driver escape have a high incidence". Lieutenant Colonel Pereira Leal, GNR on the subject states that "andm respect to situations in which drivers flee the scene of the accident and are not identified, who end up committing two crimes: trampling and assistance of omission". That official GNR also notes that pedestrian accidents are a case where there are rarely witnesses, hindering their investigation, which basically uses the expertise of physical evidence, left in place by car fleeing, such as optical glasses, mirrors and, sometimes, the symbol of the brand of the vehicle.
Also JN 27 January highlights the subject in the article "Average of five pedestrian accidents a day", but nevertheless in its edition of 28 January developed the theme in the article entitled "GNR procura 12 drivers killed and fled" (only available in paper version), where it is stated that it is being investigated by GNR doze cases of fatal pedestrian accidents occurring in 2015 and 2016, whereins drivers have not been identified, where again Lieutenant Colonel Pereira Leal, notes that more specific research of this type of accident is that "there are rarely witnesses", because with the death of the victim, everything becomes more difficult, and when there are witnesses, I can not remember clearly what happened, because of the speed as it occurs. Therefore the investigation beyond use almost always the collection of traces that are at the crash site, question workshops located nearby the accident, on repair requests.
Reading the aforesaid it is concluded that the 3.618 pedestrian accidents registered by GNR resulted 119 fatalities, the most significant since the nine roadkill leaking driver in 2015 and on the thirteen 2016, Tendo a GNR em 2015 able to identify a driver and nine 2016, getting even twelve such events "without there being held or the authors were identified", concluding that the GNR could only identify the driver in 45% of roadkill leaking, It is a very high rate, whatever crime, increased severity when it comes to serious crimes, such as murder and the help of omission.
As mentioned at the beginning, were two situations of hit and run I remember particularly, in my career, the first having been in 2001, year I took the Commander of Border Territorial Detachment, while still very fresh in these matters, I was faced with a hit of a cyclist, then the vehicle leak, which resulted in the death of the bicycle driver.
The accident occurred on a secondary road, without berms, ditch deep and at the end of the day, when light was already low. GNR was alerted to the absence of an elderly every day he traveled on his bike to his garden, returning home in the evening, whereby, when your family, found that elderly, the dinner hour had not yet come, They alerted the authorities to his disappearance, after that travel the route taken daily by elderly, the same was found in a ditch next to his bicycle to, already dead, It is the likely cause of death, head trauma, by clash head on a rock.
Seeming at first sight a screening of a cyclist, without third-party intervention, found himself through the left traces on site, that would be involved a second vehicle, that collided with the bike, projecting it and its driver into the ditch, which ended up hitting his head on a stone, and died for lack of timely relief.
Making sure that there is a car that collided with the rider, investigations were initiated immediately in order to locate that vehicle, on suspicion that his driver had practiced, two crimes: Negligent homicide, as a result of road accident and; Omission of aid. As the first step in the investigation proceed to identify the make and model of car, through the small pieces of the vehicle front headlight, only nonlocal vestiges deixados, and the second to proceed to the identification of all workshops, existing near the crash site, having one of these workshops managed to collect, the day after the accident, the information that a light vehicle goods, It had been being repaired last night, so quickly located the owner and proceeded to the seizure of their vehicle.
Easily and without the use of large technology, it was realized that the car had been painted and replaced the front of the lighthouse, proving with little room for doubt, we were intervening before the car in the accident, reinforced by the fact that its owner, performed like the victim, the same route daily, including giving a lift to the elderly and your bike back home, because they are neighbors, with the suspect after confronted with the evidence, just by confessing all the facts.
The second trampling that I remember happened most recently in 2013, as I was in this case, to perform the functions of Public Relations Officer of the Territorial Command of Évora and therefore been involved in the process of locating the vehicle the driver who collided with a bicycle. The collision resulted in the death of cyclist, with the driver of the vehicle is placed on the run, and be required to its location, were used for this purpose all available resources, even using the the Media sites, to disclose the occurrence and alert the public to the need to communicate to all GNR and any information about intervening car in collision with the cyclist.
Due to the need for information, that it came as soon as possible to researchers and knowing that the internet is an important ally in the dissemination of information, can not be overlooked that fact, It was used the Facebook page of the GNR of Évora (GNR Alentejo). Having also been asked to OCS sites disclose the population, the request to locate the intervening cars in accident, whose only data available was to be white, thus having several digital portals released the request of the GNR of Évora, It is example of the portal Elvas.com.pt, in which 17 June 2013 He issued the order in the play "GNR looking car involved in fatal accident near Évora", as well as the News Minute to Also on the same day he issued the subject in the article "GNR looking car involved in fatal accident", also with local radio played an important role, due to the speed with which the message is passed, an example being the request made by Note Radio Antenna in the play "Évora: GNR seeks author of fatal accident".
In all parts it was reported that GNR sought "a white van, which features some kind of damage on the front ", asking if anyone had knowledge of vehicles with these characteristics, to give knowledge to GNR, having been achieved in a short time, proceed to the identification of the vehicle and its owner, because of a conductor, to learn of the incident, I have contacted the GNR to realize that the place and time of the accident to have crossed with a car of the same characteristics.
In the roadkill I had opportunity to make known and which resulted in the death of hit have been investigated as homicides by negligence, the assumption not have existed fraud, so the penalties were suspended, however the investigation is properly conducted, we may not be able to realize, that eventually in some of these situations have existed intent on trampling, disguised in road accident, so it is important the authorities use all instruments at its disposal, to identify not only the driver, and to complete, no margin of error, whether it is an intentional or negligent homicide crime, which is given also important in 119 roadkill, which resulted mortal victims, registered by GNR in 2015 and 2016
However we know that there are twelve drivers who have not been identified and committed twelve offenses of negligent or intentional homicide and twelve aid omission crimes, worrying us so, there are twelve criminals who have not responded by their conduct, and that the number of identified conductors having increased 2015 to 2016, the only positive thing in this matter.
