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'Right' tomorrow beats 'wrong' today

Tweets, Instagram, Facebook posts, and media alerts all have one thing in common, getting information out immediately. Who wants today's news tomorrow, when you can have it today?

In a society where nearly everyone has 24/7 access to information that can be forwarded, retweeted or reposted with the touch of a screen, the demand is to know what happened seconds, minutes or days after a tragic event. But for those charged with investigating wrongdoing, the temptation to rush to judgment must be tempered and Exhibit A is the "GI Joe" investigation.

Despite the technological advancements that have occurred in recent years, one thing remains constant, that thorough and complete investigations take time.

Investigations require a review of forensic evidence, which take a lab time to analyze; require issuance of subpoenas, which take persons time to draft, execute and obtain results; require the interview and often re-interview of "persons of interest," and others; and most importantly, require a person(s) to review all the relevant evidence and then draw conclusions about what really happened.

Investigations do not occur instantaneously or in 140 characters. As the former Illinois executive inspector general, whose duties included investigating fraud and abuse in state government, I was often asked why it took our office so long to investigate a matter.

My response was simple: "We'd rather get it right tomorrow, than get it wrong today." In its editorial, the Daily Herald correctly reminded the public of the difference between getting things "fast" and getting them "right." As it turned out, getting it "right" is what the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force did and for that, they deserve to be applauded.

Ricardo Meza

Arlington Heights

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