The Effective Use of the Media in Serious Crime Investigations
1. Introduction
Media handling in serious crime investigations is a complex issue. On the one hand, the media provide excellent access to the general public and can help generate important information for an enquiry. On the other hand, the media can sap the resources of an investigation, mislead the public, and interfere with the investigative and legal processes. As with other areas of policy-making in a serious crime investigation, it is the Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) who is ultimately responsible for deciding the overall media strategy. Even though the SIO will be advised by the relevant media specialist and guided by force policy, the handling of the media in the broadest sense has been identified as a critical skill of the SIO (Adhami and Browne, 1996). This report examines media handling in major crime investigations and the development of effective media strategies, so as to produce useful advice for future SIOs. The study forms part of PRC’s Serious Crime Research Programme, which is... .