should police tell

[billyo]

should the police tell the press when they are going to arrest someone and have hounds of hell turn up at that persons door them make a big headline in there paper only to find out its all bullsh## but the police never say they are sorry i think the person who leeks to the press should be sacked if there is no charges

 

[megawatt]

Whilst the basic premise of our justice system is "innocent until proven guilty" the answer must be no and the police should face legal repercussions if they do so.

MW

 

[JohnD]

you are right

the judges often complain that press speculation prevents people getting a fair trial

I read yesterday that a guy called Stagg (widely considered to have been guilty of murdering a woman who was out in the park with her toddler) was in fact innocent. You'd never have thought it from the newspaper coverage. they thought he got off on a technicality because evidence was ruled inadmissable but after 24 years the real murderer has been found

in 1999
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3098446.stm

yesterday
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7117564.stm

 

[megawatt]

Absolutely ... Innocent people do get charged for offences they didn't commit and their lives shouldn't be trashed whilst they are waiting for trial.

 

[bernardgreen]

should the police tell the press when they are going to arrest someone and have hounds of hell turn up at that persons door

When this happened in Germany some years back the police explained that arranging to have a crowd filling the street before the police arrived meant the targets would have less chance of making a run for it when the police arrived. It didn't score highly as a reason for telling the press.

 

[billyo]

how come the police officer in charge never tracks down the culprit or is it him a few bob in the arse pocket that do nicely sir