Jack briefly explained, "Everyone here is in a hurry, and most people don't pay much attention to things that don't concern them. The 'bystander effect' is most evident in this city."
The so-called "bystander effect," also known as the "diffusion of responsibility effect," is a sociological and psychological phenomenon that refers to the weakening of individual responsibility within a group due to the presence of bystanders in an emergency.
In simpler terms, when a victim appears, everyone is watching, and everyone expects others to step forward, which in turn causes everyone to retreat. The best way to break this effect is for someone to take the initiative, breaking the silence and encouraging bystanders to join in, or for someone to be designated as responsible.
For example, during Jack's initial training at the police academy, an instructor explicitly taught him that when encountering a situation where help is needed, such as when an officer falls or he is rescuing someone alone, the most important thing to do is not to simply shout for help, but to designate someone to direct what needs to be done.
For example, "Hey, guy with glasses over there, call 911!" instead of yelling, "Who's helping?"
"It seems you haven't neglected your studies even when I was gone," Rossi complimented with a smile.
"Have you done the ballistics comparison for the previous cases?" Emily asked Danny.
Danny, hands on his hips as usual, nodded. "I expedited the CSI lab after I took over, and the results just came out just as the public opinion was boiling. The murder weapon in the four cases was confirmed to be the same pistol, but the serial number didn't match."
Suddenly, he looked towards the subway entrance in surprise and saw an elderly man walking down the stairs, accompanied by his younger brother, James Reagan, walking towards him. Who else could it be but his grandfather, Henry Reagan?
"Grandpa, what brings you here?"
"Today's news brought back memories I thought were long gone, so I thought I'd come check it out. I didn't expect to see an old friend here."
Henry Reagan chuckled, declining the offer of his grandson, still in his patrolman's uniform, to accompany him down to the subway station. He then embraced Rossi with open arms.
"How many years have we last seen each other, David? Ten or seven?"
"Only five. You look good, old man." Rossi seemed quite familiar with the former, former, former NYPD chief, and the two patted each other warmly on the back.
"I don't know why, but I've gotten better these past two years. My heart doesn't hurt anymore, and my legs are a bit more nimble." Old Henry spread his arms and spun in a circle, showcasing his newly agile form.
"Anyway, it's nice to see you again." Rossi's eyes tingled with emotion upon seeing his old friend, perhaps reflecting on the past.
Technically, he and old Henry were still a generation apart. If they were truly meeting on equal terms, Jack would probably have invited Detective Hunter or veteran CIA agent Joe Mason.
But the two parties probably didn't know each other, otherwise Jack wouldn't have needed to intervene when Joe Mason was in trouble.
After seeing the body covered with a white sheet on the ground, the old man's smile gradually disappeared, and he finally sighed, "This scene seems familiar, David."
"You mean 'Son of Sam'?" Rossi obviously understood why he was there.
"Yes, I was just an ordinary detective back then, but it seems this time, the situation is even worse," Old Henry said, looking up at the tattered security camera on the pillar and cursing under his breath.
"Bullshit privacy laws! This thing should be installed on every street in New York."
In fact, the number of cameras on New York's streets has been increasing since 9/11. However, unlike in his previous life, in this American TV series, the influence of a certain Eastern superpower waxes and wanes, causing some once-renowned surveillance system companies to mysteriously disappear.
This was one of the reasons why Jack had previously thought he had plenty of time to cope with the plot of "Person of Interest." There was a lack of affordable and high-quality cameras and surveillance solution suppliers. With New York City streets now filled with only 600,000 or 800,000-pixel cameras, and many even only 300,000-pixel cameras, that AI program called "the machine," no matter how powerful, was just extremely shortsighted.
Only in areas deemed vulnerable to terrorist attacks, like Times Square, Wall Street, and the Empire State Building, were high-end Eagle Eye cameras installed, watching over the city from afar.
"I highly doubt it." Jack flicked on his phone. Garcia had found the surveillance footage from the incident and sent it to his phone as usual.
"Look! That's the killer. He got off the bus with the crowd." Jack pointed at the man in the black hoodie, highlighted in the video.
Emily immediately understood what he meant. "He lowered his head when he got off the bus, which means he knew exactly where the security cameras were."
"Are you saying this guy, unlike the 'Son of Sam' back then, had premeditated his attacks, and they weren't completely random?" Old Henry raised an eyebrow.
"I can't be sure of that, but it's clear he'd scouted the area, knew every camera location, and used a handgun that was easily portable. All I can say is, this guy knew what he was doing."
Jack had also received files on the first four cases yesterday. Because they occurred in different police precincts, they were being treated as common shootings, with different detectives assigned to each.
Some detectives were incredibly conscientious, documenting everything from interviews to on-site evidence. Others were more negligent, and much of the evidence still needs to be supplemented. However, the most compelling footage was the surveillance footage from three of the incidents.
He rewatched them repeatedly, each time capturing a blurry hooded figure passing before the victim collapsed. The incidents occurred at subway entrances, on the street, and at busy intersections.
The quality of one clip was so poor that he had to slow down each frame to discern the moment the gunman fired.
"Although Rossi hadn't become an FBI agent when the Son of Sam was active, I've read the notes he made when he later visited David Berkowitz in prison. Frankly, I can't find any other similarities between the two, except for the random attacks on passers-by."
Hearing what Jack said, Old Henry's scowl grew even more sorrowful. "It sounds like this time is even worse. Berkowitz's targets were dating couples or young, beautiful women, but this time it's an indiscriminate attack.
If everyone could be a target, it's unimaginable how panic would spread. I hope everyone handling this case will devote themselves to it and not let the days when people lived in fear for an entire year be repeated."
"I promise you, old friend!" Rossi said seriously.
(End of this chapter)