After a violent incident occurs, police may put out a media release stating there is no risk to the public. This means factors are known in which the public is not generally at risk, however, an explanation of the factors is not provided.
Read more: Pancake breakfast supports MS
The main reason for the lack or information being released is due to investigative strategy/integrity or privacy issues.
If an incident occurred where two people were deceased and police are not looking for a suspect, this typically would indicate a murder-suicide. Police do not report suicides to the media, however, in a case of a murder-suicide, it may be reported due to the murder.
If we say we aren’t looking for a suspect, that means we either have them in custody, they are deceased, or possibly previously incarcerated. It is also possible the suspect doesn’t know we suspect them but have enough evidence to know their identity and just don’t want them to know we know, yet.
Generally, when we restrict the public dissemination of information related to a suspect, it can be for the integrity of the investigation. What this often means is, even a bit of information being released may inhibit an investigation.
This could be because we don’t want to tip off a suspect due to an investigation and need to keep it as quiet as possible.
Please know that consideration for the public and providing information is always involved as more serious incidents happen but we do have laws to follow. The Privacy Act identifies information that has restrictions on what can be made public, as do other laws. The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits us from releasing a person’s identifying information if they are under the age of 18.
The law allows us to release the name of an adult who has been charged with a criminal offense. Once we swear/affirm a document called an Information, which is the formal process of laying a criminal charge, we are allowed to tell you who and why. The information in those media releases is limited because we aren’t laying out an investigation but we do recognize that sometimes people have many questions about the charges.
The court appearance location and date of a person charged are usually in our media releases because now the public can attend and watch the proceedings. Details are presented by the Crown Attorney outlining the circumstances of the charge and if it goes to trial, you can attend and hear everything about the incident and subsequent investigation.
Considerations on releasing information to the public are not merely done because people are curious.
If an incident could have significant media coverage then we will likely do a release. If there is an identified risk to the public, then a media release will be sent out.
It is a bit of ‘if you need to know, you’ll be informed’, but please know, information isn’t held back ‘just because’.
– 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 Feb. 27, 2025, edition of the Meridian Source.
Read more: Council passes airport bylaw
