

NYPD Orders Precincts to Deny Journalists Access to Crime Reports - rb2e
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131206/civic-center/nypd-orders-precincts-deny-journalists-access-crime-reports

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malandrew
Assuming this means what I think it means, I can see one huge benefit of this
policy. All local crimes such as petty larcenies, non-violent possession of
drugs, etc. where there was an arrest will be kept out of the paper,
protecting the privacy of the accused. The problem with newspapers printing
all these minor crimes is that in the eyes of the public you are seen as
guilty automatically before you get your day in court. This can ruin or derail
someones life when they are innocent or can result in much larger consequences
beyond the punishment meted out by the state when they are guilty.

Once this information is public, it gets printed on the internet, and then it
ends up in dozens if not hundreds of extortionous "mug shot sites" on the
internet, each of which try to get a couple of hundred bucks from the person
to remove the information.

Crime statistics should be public information. Guilty verdicts should be
public information, but for non-violent crimes with no victims, the entity
getting the information should not have reprinting rights, especially not the
right to print the name of the convicted.

At the end of the day, it is out justice system that is responsible for
sentencing. Violating the privacy of the accused (even the committed when
there are no victims) only serves to subject people to a second public
"trial", where members of the community each mete out their own sentence
without due process.

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greenyoda
Hopefully this policy will be reversed when Bratton becomes the Police
Commissioner in a few weeks.

