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A VEIL of secrecy will be lowered over the most serious crimes in Queensland after the Beattie Government yesterday agreed to censor the information police make available to the media. In its report on the introduction of digital police radios the Crime and Misconduct Commission recommended that the details of the police's 19 most newsworthy job types be subject to tight controls. There are 138 types of police jobs, from petty crime to murder. While computer-generated details would generally be made available to the media almost immediately, information on violent crimes such as hijacks, bomb threats sieges and armed persons would not be released for one hour. Information on more sensitive cnmes - including offences against children, rapes and suspected terrorist activity- may never be released, while the officer-in-charge of the Police Communications Centre will have the discretion to withhold information on any job type. Media organisations used scanners to listen to the analogue radio network until the Queensland Police Service moved to secretly upgrade to a secure digital network. Within hours of the CMC report being tabled in Parliament, Police Minister Judy Spence said the Government had accepted all 14 recommendations. Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said the CMC appeared to find a middle ground as neither the QPS nor the media got what they wanted. But Mr Atkinson and CMC chairman Brendan Butler said the media would be better off than at present where the QPS media unit was the only official source of information about crimes occurring in Brisbane where digital radios are used. Mr Butler said mechanisms would be in place so the media would know when police were withholding information. Media outlets could then raise any complaints with a committee that would be established. "We needed to strike a balance and that balance is between the acknowledged need for the public to have access to the information on one hand, and the need for public safety, police safety and operational considerations on the other," Mr Buller said. Mr Atkinson said police would still be able to give details of any Job type to media if it could help solve a crime or protect ihe public. But he said the strict controls recommended by the CMC might extend to other areas of the service and limit what officers could tell the media under certain circumstances. "One would expect that police generally might comply with the extent and spirit of what's recommended here but again I think the overriding issue would be public safety," Mr Atkinson said. Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance state secretary Dave Waters said the public could be at risk if the media was unable to immediately alert people to dangerous situations. "The CMC recommendations represent an outrageous attack on press freedom in this state by effectively providing police with the power to set the media agenda," Mr Waters said. "By accepting these recommendations, the State Government has put another brick in the wall of a secret state." Courier Mail (10-12-2004) Sean Parnell |
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