On Sept. 16, 2024, Meridian Source reporter Dan Gray provided an opinion piece titled “What a week.” He wrote of local tragedies occurring within a short period and addressed why immediate media reporting may not happen.
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Police provide media releases to media outlets and in turn the media can provide that to the public or, media report information they obtain through other means. This led to today’s topic of information, processes and credibility checking.
It is extremely important for police, as well as media, to be considerate, accurate and truthful in our reporting. We are very careful and intentional in what information is released taking many areas of the information into account. Neither of us report on suicides and the media goes to lengths in exercising discretion in photos and the reporting of any serious incidents. In my policing experience, I have always had an excellent relationship with local media outlets as they very much have the same values and responsibilities police do with information.
Unfortunately, social media has been the platform where families and friends first learned of their loved-one’s death, and this is far from ideal. Whenever possible, we will engage Victim Services to attend with an officer to conduct a next-of-kin notification regarding a death. This specialized group bring so much benefit in these circumstances and their support for the deceased’ family/friends cannot be overstated.
Neighbours, friends or families will disclose what they observed at scenes to reporters which can include people’s identities, but it often isn’t appropriate for police to comment on. We have to make positive identification of any deceased individuals and then make priority notifications. During all this, investigative considerations must be made so we don’t jeopardize our investigation. While identities or pieces of information may appear to be obvious, investigators must follow protocols in safe-guarding and confirming information.
An example is when an officer seizes substances believed to be drugs. We typically have a pretty good idea of what the substance is as we have testing kits, but these are presumptive tests. This is why in media releases the wording ‘believed to be’, is used unless a drug sample has been analyzed by a laboratory and they have issued a Certificate of Analysis stating exactly what the substance is. This is the extent required for us to say definitively what a substance is.
Another area of where the law governs information is when an individual is arrested for a criminal offense. Until an information is sworn/affirmed, privacy laws prevent us from disclosing the individual’s identity. A Judge’s Order may also prohibit this. We are also not allowed to release the identity of a youth who has been criminally charged.
As Dan wrote in his opinion piece, the release of inaccurate information would lend to undermine credibility. Credibility is extremely important for both the media and police as it is something you can work to gain it back, but best just not to lose it in the first place.
– Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbown, is the NCO in charge of the Lloydminster RCMP detachment’s General Investigation Section. Stay tuned for future articles from the Lloydminster RCMP.
This column was originally published in the Oct. 17, 2024, edition of the Meridian Source.
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