Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2015-11-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons interviewed by police, but not charged, have had their names released on the decision of a senior police officer because of the threat to life, detection of further crime, or because of public interest or confidence, in the last period for which figures are available.

Lord Bates

The Home Office does not hold this information. However, the decision to release names and/or details of suspects in a criminal investigation are decisions for the police, which are guided in making such decisions by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) Guidance on ‘Relationships with the media’.

A key principle of the guidance is that the police have a duty to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of information (including personal data) which must be balanced against the duty to be open and transparent whenever possible.

There are clearly great risks in naming suspects and the guidance makes clear that decisions should only be made on a case-by-case basis, and that the police should not release the names of those who are arrested or suspected of a crime unless they have clearly identified circumstances to justify disclosure.