[meric]

It could apply if the person apologising is part of the police force, or if it's a family member of the perpetrator. I think it can be a little more than sympathy - a person is apologising on behalf of the society the person is a part of. A visitor to a crime ridden suburb is mugged. A passerby, feeling ashamed of his neighbors could apologise with a meaning more than sympathy. The scope of responsibility increases the less confident and less secure the receiver of the apology is. That's what I'm getting at.