“The reward for Freeman is stimulating people’s greed,” he told SBS News. “It’s interesting that the police are appealing through a base instinct that people could make some money.”

And do many people actually get the money?

Million-dollar information

These are multiple $1 million rewards on the table in Australia: for information leading to the recovery of William Tyrrell, who went missing aged three in country NSW in 2014; for solving the 1980 cold case of Melbourne mother Maria James, who was stabbed to death in her bookshop; for information on each of the three murdered Aboriginal children, Evelyn Greenup, Clinton Speedy Duroux and Colleen Walker-Craig, who went missing from Bowraville in 1990 and 1991; and for Amber Haigh, a 19-year-old new mother who vanished in 2002 — among various others.

The Bowraville murders refer to three deaths in Bowraville, NSW, between September 1990 and February 1991. The victims were all young Aboriginal people, and their families believe a serial killer was responsible, though the cases remain unsolved. Source: SBS News

There’s also $1 million on offer for fresh leads into the 1979 Luna Park ghost train fire in Sydney that killed a man and six boys.

“Clearly if it was a strategy that didn’t generate information that was useful to the police, they wouldn’t use it.”

How are reward amounts decided? And who decides?

Sometimes rewards also come from the Australian Federal Police or Crime Stoppers, which is also funded by state governments. Police may also pay informants directly, especially in cases involving crime gangs.

“But I might say: ‘you wouldn’t have got anywhere close without my information’.”

Dezi Freeman is accused of killing police officers Vadim De Waart-Hottart and Neal Thompson. Source: AAP / Simon Dallinger

Victoria Police says the assessment of any reward takes place after a matter is finalised and the 28-day appeal period has passed.

Sometimes rewards are split between more than one informant, while accomplices to crime in Australia generally do not receive police rewards, though they may be eligible for indemnity from prosecution.

Why are there larger rewards for some people than others?

For instance, the disappearance of four-year-old Cleo Smith from a WA campsite in 2021 had a $1 million reward, while many missing person cases attract none.

In this file photo, Cleo Smith’s mother, Ellie Smith, and her partner, Jake Gliddon, appeal for any information on the missing four-year-old. She was found within three weeks of her abduction. Source: AAP

Victoria Police said rewards vary because every case is unique.

“If you are going to have a reward for a murder, then all murder should be the same; everyone should be valued the same.”

How long after the event are rewards most effective?

“I’m not saying there’s a correlation between the reward being offered and the outcome, however … clearly the strategy changed and I think they learned from the failures in those early days of the William Tyrrell investigation,” Mallett said.

William Tyrrell vanished from a home in Kendall, NSW in 2014. The three-year-old was last seen wearing a Spider-Man suit in the garden of his foster grandmother’s home. Source: AAP

“Now, notably, [with the case of] Dezi Freeman, a million-dollar reward has been offered within a few days.”

“Over time, allegiances change.”

How many rewards are actually paid out?

“The names of the person who’s claimed it is suppressed because of all of these complexities … I think they’re probably claimed more often than we think.”

Are financial rewards effective in solving crimes?

“And if [a reward] solves one murder, it’s a success, isn’t it?”