POLICE forces have been told to share suspects’ ethnicity and nationality with the public when they are charged in high-profile and sensitive investigations.
The guidance comes in the wake of riots following the Southport murders which were partly fuelled by social media disinformation.
The interim guidance by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing comes after mounting pressure on police over the details they make public.
Asked on BBC Breakfast whether not revealing nationality and ethnicity until a suspect is charged, rather than when they are arrested, means disinformation could still spread in the community as it did following Axel Rudakabana’s murders in Southport, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson agreed.
“(Disinformation) is a bigger problem for society, I think, but in terms of particular individuals, what normally happens is at charge, information is released,” Dame Diana said.
“That’s what’s happened before.”
The new guidance says forces should consider disclosing the extra details about suspects charged in particularly high-profile and sensitive investigations.
But decisions on whether to release such information will remain with forces themselves, the NPCC said.
It is hoped the change could combat the spread of misinformation on social media, after Merseyside Police was criticised for not revealing the ethnicity of Rudakabana when he was arrested on suspicion of murder when he attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last July.
Within hours of the attack, posts spread on the internet which claimed the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker, who had come to the country by boat last year.
In the first press conference after the event, at 6.30pm that day, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told journalists the suspect was originally from Cardiff.
But the police statement did little to quell the misinformation spreading online, and the next day riots began across the country.
In a separate incident in May, to suppress rumours that an incident involving a car being ploughed into a crowd of people during Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade was a terror attack, the force promptly revealed the ethnicity and nationality of a man they had arrested, who was white and British.
Dame Diana said: “We were very supportive of being as open and as transparent as possible and this interim guidance will set out that on charge, usually name and addresses are given.
“We also, in most cases, will want to see nationality or ethnicity given as well. This goes back to last year and what happened, that appalling atrocity in Southport.”
She said the Government has asked the Law Commission to look into the guidance to make sure any future trial is not prejudiced by information released by police.
Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: “We saw during last summer’s disorder, as well as in several recent high-profile cases, what the major, real-world consequences can be from what information police release into the public domain.
“We have to make sure our processes are fit for purpose in an age of social media speculation and where information can travel incredibly quickly across a wide range of channels.
“Disinformation and incorrect narratives can take hold in a vacuum. It is good police work for us to fill this vacuum with the facts about issues of wider public interest.”
Earlier this month, Warwickshire police and crime commissioner Philip Seccombe pressed the Home Secretary for an urgent update on the issue after the charging of two men – reported to be Afghan asylum seekers – prompted accusations that the force withheld information about their immigration status.
The force denied a “cover-up” after being criticised by Reform UK.
Asked if information about a suspect’s asylum status will be shared in new guidance, Dame Diana said: “To date, it’s not something that the Home Office comment on in terms of asylum applications that are made by individuals.”
The new guidance, which comes into force immediately, was welcomed by police and crime commissioners.
Emily Spurrell of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said: “I am pleased the NPCC and College of Policing have recognised the need to update guidance for forces in the light of recent high-profile cases.
“PCCs and Deputy Mayors act on behalf of the public and it is clear there was a need to review the guidance to address growing public concern.
“We have seen the speed with which mis- or disinformation can spread online and the danger to public safety that can cause, so it is right police keep the public informed as far as is possible whilst preserving a suspect’s right to a fair trial.”
