Why do some people fail to come forward to help?

[stephen25000]

Seems the Mirror is chatting shit again.

Par for the course with the UK press in this case.

[jassi]

Backtracking slightly - have SY themselves said that they are interested in these owners, or is it media manipulation and hype?

[Wonderfulspam]

Backtracking slightly - have SY themselves said that they are interested in these owners, or is it media manipulation and hype?

No, it's a Mirror article from 'a source',  So that'll be Clarence Mitchell then.

[stephen25000]

No, it's a Mirror article from 'a source',  So that'll be Clarence Mitchell then.

Ah the 'pink' one.

[jassi]

No, it's a Mirror article from 'a source',  So that'll be Clarence Mitchell then.

Thank you -'nuff said, then

[drummer]

It has been reported in the MSM that five owners of apartments at the Ocean Club Resort in Praia da Luz have failed to come forward and cooperate with police.

The question is now being asked as to why would these people not want to assist in a missing child enquiry.

One has always to remember that there were Brits out there with much to hide for reasons other than are connected with Madeleine  McCann.  Undeclared income from rentals being one of them 

http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/taxman-targets-illegal-rentals/31253

Taxman targets illegal rentals


Estimates point to around 300 million euros being diverted away from the state’s depleted coffers in unpaid taxes.
It is believed that tax inspectors will be hitting the streets this summer of popular coastline resorts with a view to establishing whether holiday homes are duly licensed and registered with tax offices. Similarly, apartments let to students in university cities will also be targeted by inspectors. This is anticipated to take place before the summer break as authorities bid to catch perpetrators in the act of withholding taxes.
According to an official report issued by the Finance Ministry through its Fraud and Special Actions Squad, this renewed effort comes after “numerous situations concerning the omission of facts or undeclared values were detected” in random checks on apartments commonly thought to be second homes or investment properties.
The squad has this week also received instructions and specific targets which inspectors have been requested to visit in the coming months.
The Finance Ministry further revealed that it has already “verified the existence of several fiscal irregularities which immediately resulted in the correction of unpaid taxes and the opening of a case file and the lodging of charges against offenders.”
Home owners found guilty of evading taxes payable on rental income could face hefty fines in addition to coughing up for outstanding amounts. Depending on the nature of the tax evasion, non-compliant landlords could also be asked to answer criminal charges in court.
It is believed authorities will particularly frown on owners of properties used for holiday lets but who have benefited from tax breaks due to the use for which the property has been registered at Finanças tax offices.
While not disclosing the manner in which the taxman intends executing this operation, the office of Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque did say that “inspections by tax authorities will be intensified through the reinforcement of human, operational, legal and technological resources.”
The objective will be then to “control, detect, correct and penalise infringements in this particular field.”
Reports this week indicated that up to 400,000 homes could currently be being used as rental properties without their owners paying the required taxes.
The Finance Ministry said the underlying principle behind this new onslaught on non-obliging taxpayers is the “foundation of this current Government’s fiscal policy which is intended to ensure social equity in times of austerity while also impeding situations of abuse and unfair competition.”
While it is thought that around 300 million euros is being lost in unpaid taxes each year, the amount exchanging hands between tenants and landlords of unregistered properties in Portugal is calculated to be around one billion euros per annum.

[icabodcrane]

Suppose there was a violent burglary in your street  ...  a serious crime

And suppose you were in bed,  fast asleep at the time and saw and heard nothing 

What would you do  ?

Would go to the police station the next day to  'present'  yourself,  saying that although you heard and saw nothing,  and that although you have absolutely nothing of  value to tell the police,  you thought they might want to know who you are  ? 

If people have not  'come forward'  in this case,  the most  obvious explanation is that they have nothing of significance to say

[Brietta]

Suppose there was a violent burglary in your street  ...  a serious crime

And suppose you were in bed,  fast asleep at the time and saw and heard nothing 

What would you do  ?

Would go to the police station the next day to  'present'  yourself,  saying that although you heard and saw nothing,  and that although you have absolutely nothing of  value to tell the police,  you thought they might want to know who you are  ? 

If people have not  'come forward'  in this case,  the most  obvious explanation is that they have nothing of significance to say

Using the example you quote, icabod, I would be astounded if the police didn't doorstep me in the process of investigating a violent crime.

[icabodcrane]

Using the example you quote, icabod, I would be astounded if the police didn't doorstep me in the process of investigating a violent crime.

And what if they didn't  'doorstep'  you  ...  would you contact the police to tell them you had nothing to tell them  ?

The point I am making is that it is silly to presume that anyone who was in PDL that week,  and has not  'presented'  themselves to the police,  must have some kind of  'dark motive'   for doing so   

Lets assume,  for instance,  that you or I were in PDL that week on a family holiday

Lets assume that we did not recall ever even having  seen  the McCann family

Lets assume that we spent our time with our kids doing the kind of things most young families do on a beach holiday abroad  ...    paddling in the sea ...  collecting shells on the beach ...  building sandcastles ...  playing beach cricket/tennis with plastic bats   ...  you know the kind of thing 

Lets assume we spent all our time with our families and never did  'adult pass-times'  like tennis lessons or sailing,  and lets assume we had our evening meals in our apartments with our kids and then stayed there after they'd gone to bed

It's fair to say that in those circumstances you or I would probably never have crossed paths with the McCann family,  who were having an entirely different kind of holiday

Now lets assume you and I returned home with our families,  never having crossed paths with the McCanns

We'd have nothing of significance or value to tell the police would we  ?  ...   there would be no purpose to us  contacting them,  would there  ?   

I believe those people who have not  'come forward'   are likely to have the same reasoning   ...   they simply don't have anything of significance  to  say 

[Mr Gray]

And what if they didn't  'doorstep'  you  ...  would you contact the police to tell them you had nothing to tell them  ?

The point I am making is that it is silly to presume that anyone who was in PDL that week,  and has not  'presented'  themselves to the police,  must have some kind of  'dark motive'   for doing so   

Lets assume,  for instance,  that you or I were in PDL that week on a family holiday

Lets assume that we did not recall ever even having  seen  the McCann family

Lets assume that we spent our time with our kids doing the kind of things most young families do on a beach holiday abroad  ...    paddling in the sea ...  collecting shells on the beach ...  building sandcastles ...  playing beach cricket/tennis with plastic bats   ...  you know the kind of thing 

Lets assume we spent all our time with our families and never did  'adult pass-times'  like tennis lessons or sailing,  and lets assume we had our evening meals in our apartments with our kids and then stayed there after they'd gone to bed

It's fair to say that in those circumstances you or I would probably never have crossed paths with the McCann family,  who were having an entirely different kind of holiday

Now lets assume you and I returned home with our families,  never having crossed paths with the McCanns

We'd have nothing of significance or value to tell the police would we  ?  ...   there would be no purpose to us  contacting them,  would there  ?   

I believe those people who have not  'come forward'   are likely to have the same reasoning   ...   they simply don't have anything of significance  to  say

there was an interesting case in the UK about 10 years ago invoving a murder of a young women. The police had no leadsapart from dna from the scene. They decided to ask every male in a certain area...about 20,000 men, to voluntarily take a dna test......this resulted in the perpetrator being caught when he tried to avoid giving a sample when almost everyone else did

[gilet]

And what if they didn't  'doorstep'  you  ...  would you contact the police to tell them you had nothing to tell them  ?

The point I am making is that it is silly to presume that anyone who was in PDL that week,  and has not  'presented'  themselves to the police,  must have some kind of  'dark motive'   for doing so   

Lets assume,  for instance,  that you or I were in PDL that week on a family holiday

Lets assume that we did not recall ever even having  seen  the McCann family

Lets assume that we spent our time with our kids doing the kind of things most young families do on a beach holiday abroad  ...    paddling in the sea ...  collecting shells on the beach ...  building sandcastles ...  playing beach cricket/tennis with plastic bats   ...  you know the kind of thing 

Lets assume we spent all our time with our families and never did  'adult pass-times'  like tennis lessons or sailing,  and lets assume we had our evening meals in our apartments with our kids and then stayed there after they'd gone to bed

It's fair to say that in those circumstances you or I would probably never have crossed paths with the McCann family,  who were having an entirely different kind of holiday

Now lets assume you and I returned home with our families,  never having crossed paths with the McCanns

We'd have nothing of significance or value to tell the police would we  ?  ...   there would be no purpose to us  contacting them,  would there  ?   

I believe those people who have not  'come forward'   are likely to have the same reasoning   ...   they simply don't have anything of significance  to  say

Lets not assume anything.

Too many people make assumptions regarding this case and you are continuing in that vein.

The fact is that the Police, be that the PJ or SY know more about this case than you or I.

When a person comes forward even if they do not believe that they have anything valuable to tell the police, or indeed anything at all of any significance to offer, the police can ask questions which prompt memories that the person did not know were connected to the events.

You seem to forget that the police when asking for information, stress that they want to talk to all potential witnesses to a crime/event even those who do not believe that they saw anything relevant. Do you really assume they do that simply to waste time?

Everyone who was in PDL that week saw hundreds of people and even if they did not see the McCanns they may well have seen the people (or even BE the people) that the Police are trying to eliminate from their inquiries.

Your assumptions are the perfect example of how not to conduct an inquiry. Thankfully the detectives of SY and the PJ are not as amateurish in their outlook as you clearly are.

[Cariad]

Lets not assume anything.

Too many people make assumptions regarding this case and you are continuing in that vein.

The fact is that the Police, be that the PJ or SY know more about this case than you or I.

When a person comes forward even if they do not believe that they have anything valuable to tell the police, or indeed anything at all of any significance to offer, the police can ask questions which prompt memories that the person did not know were connected to the events.

You seem to forget that the police when asking for information, stress that they want to talk to all potential witnesses to a crime/event even those who do not believe that they saw anything relevant. Do you really assume they do that simply to waste time?

Everyone who was in PDL that week saw hundreds of people and even if they did not see the McCanns they may well have seen the people (or even BE the people) that the Police are trying to eliminate from their inquiries.

Your assumptions are the perfect example of how not to conduct an inquiry. Thankfully the detectives of SY and the PJ are not as amateurish in their outlook as you clearly are.

I didn't realise that you were a detective, Gilet. I'm an amateur like icabod and probably 99% of the people on here.
 

[Brietta]

Lets not assume anything.

Too many people make assumptions regarding this case and you are continuing in that vein.

The fact is that the Police, be that the PJ or SY know more about this case than you or I.

When a person comes forward even if they do not believe that they have anything valuable to tell the police, or indeed anything at all of any significance to offer, the police can ask questions which prompt memories that the person did not know were connected to the events.

You seem to forget that the police when asking for information, stress that they want to talk to all potential witnesses to a crime/event even those who do not believe that they saw anything relevant. Do you really assume they do that simply to waste time?

Everyone who was in PDL that week saw hundreds of people and even if they did not see the McCanns they may well have seen the people (or even BE the people) that the Police are trying to eliminate from their inquiries.

Your assumptions are the perfect example of how not to conduct an inquiry. Thankfully the detectives of SY and the PJ are not as amateurish in their outlook as you clearly are.

I believe NSY are in the process of weeding out what is of relevance and what is not.

I find nothing extraordinary in them wanting information on everyone who was in occupation in block five and elsewhere at the relevant time.

In fact I find it extraordinary that the PJ doesn't appear to have done this as a matter of course.

[Alfred R Jones]

And what if they didn't  'doorstep'  you  ...  would you contact the police to tell them you had nothing to tell them  ?

The point I am making is that it is silly to presume that anyone who was in PDL that week,  and has not  'presented'  themselves to the police,  must have some kind of  'dark motive'   for doing so   

Lets assume,  for instance,  that you or I were in PDL that week on a family holiday

Lets assume that we did not recall ever even having  seen  the McCann family

Lets assume that we spent our time with our kids doing the kind of things most young families do on a beach holiday abroad  ...    paddling in the sea ...  collecting shells on the beach ...  building sandcastles ...  playing beach cricket/tennis with plastic bats   ...  you know the kind of thing 

Lets assume we spent all our time with our families and never did  'adult pass-times'  like tennis lessons or sailing,  and lets assume we had our evening meals in our apartments with our kids and then stayed there after they'd gone to bed

It's fair to say that in those circumstances you or I would probably never have crossed paths with the McCann family,  who were having an entirely different kind of holiday

Now lets assume you and I returned home with our families,  never having crossed paths with the McCanns

We'd have nothing of significance or value to tell the police would we  ?  ...   there would be no purpose to us  contacting them,  would there  ?   

I believe those people who have not  'come forward'   are likely to have the same reasoning   ...   they simply don't have anything of significance  to  say

Why do you assume that the person in PdL who may have vital information that unlocks this case would have had to have crossed paths with the McCanns specifically?

[gilet]

I didn't realise that you were a detective, Gilet. I'm an amateur like icabod and probably 99% of the people on here.

What a truly pathetic response!  I never claimed to be a detective. I compared Icabodcrane's amateur suppositions to the real work of real detectives.

I guess everyone here is an amateur but those who are seeking truth don't waste time inventing suppositions which bear no resemblance to the way real police work.