AddThis SmartLayers

Hall case shows suspects should be named says SoE boss

Society of Editors boss Bob Satchwell has cited the Stuart Hall case as proof that arrested suspects need to be named.

Former BBC broadcaster Hall pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault against girls aged nine to 17.

SoE executive director Bob said that had Hall not been named, he might never have been brought to court, as none of his victims knew eachother.

He spoke out after a police force said it would no longer name people charged with offences as one of its own officers was charged with stealing £113,000 from its former HQ.

Said Bob: “With the recent upsurge of calls for offenders to rename anonymous until convicted, it is worth noting that if Stuart Hall had not been named when he was arrested he might never have been brought to court. None of his victims knew one another.

“And now one police force is refusing to name people who have been charged. There is a huge danger of secret justice replacing rights of the public, and indeed defendants, back to Magna Carta. It is time someone put a stop to this frightening trend.”

His comments follow a case in which a retired police officer was been charged with the theft of £113,000 from Warwickshire Police’s former HQ.

Paul Andrew Greaves, 54, from Stratford-upon-Avon, was named by the Crown Prosecution Service after Warwickshire Police refused to reveal his identity.

Warwickshire Police said on Wednesday it would not name the officer until he appeared in court because of a “change in its policy”.

A statement issued on the force website said: “Due to a change in policy we no longer release the name of an individual on charge. Journalists may request a surname for guidance the day before the first court appearance”.

Deputy chief constable Neil Brunton initially defended the guidelines on Twitter after they were questioned by a journalist.

He said: “The policy was recently changed to align with national policy post Leverson [sic] and not because of today’s outcome.”

However the force has since apologised after the deputy police and crime commissioner for the area, Eric Wood, said he was “disappointed” at the decision.

It said that as a result of concerns raised it accepted the decision not to name Mr Greaves was wrong and inconsistent with national guidance.

One comment

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • May 3, 2013 at 9:39 am
    Permalink

    Absolutely shocking by Knacker of Warwickshire. What on earth did they think they were playing at – except reinforcing every Life on Mars stereotype which we may still hold about the police.

    What makes matters worse if that deputy chief Knacker tries to use Leveson – sorry “Leverson” (?!) in his own words – as justification.

    Also worrying is that if ACPOS guidelines can be interpreted like this by Warwickshire it’s only a matter of time before other forces follow.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)