The Edmonton Police Service’s decision not to release the name of a man accused in a hit and run for “mental health reasons” goes against a long tradition of transparency in the criminal justice system, says lawyer Steven Penney.
Police refused to release the name of the 21-year-old man charged with dangerous driving causing bodily harm and failure to stop at the scene of a collision, after a 15-year-old girl was hit by a vehicle Tuesday evening.
Penney, a law professor at the University of Alberta, told CBC News on Wednesday the decision is part of a “disturbing” trend people should be concerned about.
“When violent crimes are committed, when people are victimized, the public needs to understand and be aware of who is being affected, and how it’s affecting them,” said Penney.
The information is also crucial for members of the media, who need to inform the public about the workings of the criminal justice system, said Penney.
Secret Strathearn homicide
EPS also refused this week to release the name of a woman who was killed in the Strathearn neighborhood on Tuesday, as well as the name of the man accused of killing her.
Police justified the decision in a news release, writing that releasing the names “does not serve an investigative purpose and the EPS has a duty to protect the privacy rights of the victims and their families.”
Penney disagrees with that approach.
“To leave it solely to the discretion of the police and their lawyers to decide on a case-by-case basis, whether they believe that it’s in the public interest to disclose this information, whether it has some sort of investigative benefit for them, I think is a mistake.”
Victim names not released
Data compiled by CBC shows the victims have been named by EPS in six of the 11 homicides reported to police since the beginning of 2018.
Penney said secrecy on the part of the police is short sighted, since the names of victims and accused can be discovered through public court documents.
“To have the police refuse to release this information, when it’s going to be released in most cases eventually anyway, I’m not sure serves any legitimate public purpose.”
According to Penney, the Alberta government should clarify through legislation or directives to the police that names should be disclosed, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
University of Alberta law professor Steven Penney says it shouldn’t be up to police to decide whether or not to release people’s names. (CBC)
With files from Janice Johnston