THE murder of Michelle Samaraweera has shocked the community.

Soon after news broke of the killing, it emerged that the man responsible for raping and strangling the widow to death had struck twice before.

The clock is ticking. Detectives are well aware this type of killer is likely to strike again and significant resources have been channelled into finding the monster responsible.

Police say the community is co-operating fully, with all the men who so far asked to provide a DNA sample willing to do so.

But could more have been done before Michelle’s body was found?

It was not until it became apparent that there was a serial rapist at large who was willing to kill that the police went public.

If DNA evidence had already linked the two previous attacks, why were the public not warned sooner?

There was no witness appeal or information passed to the press that could have alerted people to the possibility of further attacks.

The police are under pressure to meet targets based on how safe the public feel in their community.

This is held up as a gauge for how well the force is performing and, of course, a sense of security is important.

But more often than not this has led to information on serious crimes being witheld in the belief that letting people know what is really going on will spread fear.

Surely the inevitable consequence of this policy only encourages the spread of misinformation in the form of gossip, heresay and Chinese whispers.

This can do more to cause insecurity and anxiety than simply setting the record straight and showing the problem is being dealt with.

The police are accountable to the public and, as such, have a duty to keep them informed about the work being done - especially when there are lives at stake.