Murder case rewards rarely work: former police commissioner

A PLAN to increase rewards to $1 million for all unsolved homicides will not catch any more killers, a former police boss insists.

The case of missing William Tyrrell is the only one in NSW bearing a $1 million reward.

• William Tyrrell believed to be nephew of pop star
• Inquest into Matthew Leveson’s death resumes

FORMER police assistant commissioner John Laycock said the government’s plan to increase rewards to $1 million for all unsolved homicides will not catch any more killers.

Despite hundreds of families relying on rewards totalling more than $22 million in 233 cold cases to bring justice, not one cent has been paid out since 2013, The Saturday Telegraph can reveal.

Matthew Leveson’s body was found after a decade.

Faye Leveson insists that rewards “do matter”.

Mr Laycock, who was a member of the police Reward Evaluation Advisory Committee, said history had shown that rewards rarely led to solving murders.

Mr Laycock is the only former member of the secretive committee to speak out after the family of Matt Leveson, whose body was finally found in May — 10 years after he went missing, called for an automatic $1 million reward for all cold case homicides.

With the third anniversary of the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrrell on Tuesday, his case remains the only one in the state with a $1 million reward for information.

That reward remains unclaimed.

The Department of Justice, in consultation with the NSW Police, has confirmed it is looking to overhaul the state’s ­reward scheme along the lines of Victoria and South Australia where amounts are set according to the penalty the perpetrator would face.

Opposition Leader Luke Foley said Labor will introduce legislation to bring in a $1 million reward for all cold cases which attract a maximum sentence of life in jail.

Mr Laycock said no one would begrudge that level of reward as part of the investigation into William’s case but families had to realise rewards were not the answer.

“Depending on the facts of a specific case, other strategies such as offering indemnities, immunity from prosecution and so on may be far more beneficial,” he said. Rewards were an investigative tool and used to garner­ publicity, he said.

Mark Leveson’s mother, Faye, said a large reward was worth offering even if provided only a glimmer­ of hope.

“He (Mr Laycock) hasn’t lost anyone. Rewards do matter,” Ms Leveson said.