1. a person suspected or convicted of a crime; perpetrator
Usage: informal; chiefly North American; commonly used in law enforcement and crime reporting

Examples

• The police arrested the perp at the scene of the robbery.
• Detectives are still searching for the perp in the hit-and-run case.
• The perp was identified through security camera footage.
• Officers brought the perp in for questioning.
• The news report described the perp as a male in his thirties.