The Naming of Police Suspects Poll

[mcgillianaire]

There's a chap on my Twitter feed who believes police suspects should not be named until they are convicted. I disagree. What do you think?

Poll Naming Police Suspects

Comments

[jhall1]

It's a difficult one, as the wide spread of votes indicates. I went for "after being charged" because that may lead to other witnesses to that or other crimes by the accused coming forward. But I recognise that there is a risk of someone who turns out to be innocent being stigmatized.

[mcgillianaire]

It certainly is a difficult one. In the Stuart Hall case, other victims only came forward after he was arrested. He (probably) would not have been charged otherwise. On the other hand, the Christopher Jeffries case is a good example of the presumption of innocence being violated by a salacious media. Both cases highlight the importance of finding the right balance between open justice and reducing (if not eradicating) stigmatisation of innocents.

The reason I didn't opt for after charge is because I didn't think there is much difference with naming someone after an arrest. The media would probably report either event in the same manner. At either stage, the case would be considered "active" for contempt of court purposes. Therefore I think we should pay closer attention to our contempt of court laws in regards to the way such events are reported by the media. But it is a difficult balance to strike and avoid the risk of media censorship.

A 1960s study seemed to demonstrate that stigmatisation of innocents is an unfortunate fact of

[loganberrybunny]

Unlike most of the rest of Europe and even America, there is no statute of limitations (time limit) for sex offences in the UK.

To which the obvious follow-up question is: "Should there be?"

[mcgillianaire]

I haven't given it enough thought yet but my gut feeling says no. What do you think?

[loganberrybunny]

Gut feeling says "after being charged", but I'm torn between that and the present situation. I definitely don't think anonymity should be maintained right through a trial: that would fly in the face of the principle of open justice.

[mcgillianaire]

Agreed on the principle of open justice during a trial. And you can read my thoughts about the right stage to disclose a name above.