Criticism of methods used by certain newspapers in reporting criminal matters is contained in the report, issued yesterday, of the Departmental Committee on Detective Work and Procedure. The report is in five volumes, numbers two, three, and four not being on sale to the general public. Volumes one and five ma be obtained from the Statione:
Office.
The question of Press publicity, the report says, is considered from two points of view—namely, the procedure for supplying the Press with official details of criminal matters and the practice which has grown up for certain papers to conduct on their own behalf independent investigations of sensational crimes and to publish the results of these investigations.
In rare cases publication of the de-fails of a criminal case is necessary and the assistance of the Press very valuable. In many others the risk of authorizing publication cannot be justified. There is no obligation upon the police to provide the Press with material for publication, but it is open to them, with discretion, to give such details of criminal cases as may reasonably be given as news, without involving any disclosure which would be contrary to the interests of justice or cause unnecessary pain or anxiety to innocent numbers of the public. Such infor-motion should only be given on the authority of a responsible police officer, and with the knowledge of the officer in charge of the case. In no circumstances should a member of a police force supply infor-motion regarding crime for the investigation of which another force is responsible."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.