Phoenix police will begin withholding names of injured victims, birth dates of arrestees, and addresses of crime scenes in what they say is an attempt to thwart identify theft, the Arizona Republic reports. Assistant City Attorney Sandra Hunter says she knows of no lawsuits or complaints suggesting that the release of public information has led to ID theft. The move, she said, is preventative. — DR
Police aim to curb ID theft by withholding report info
by Michael Ferraresi – Jan. 8, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Phoenix police will begin withholding certain basic information on both victims and criminal suspects in reports released to the public, saying it’s a way of curbing identity theft.
Personal identifying information such as names of injured victims, birth dates of criminals and the addresses where crimes are committed will be redacted completely from the written public record in some cases, officials said Wednesday.
City attorneys who advised the Police Department on the policy shift said the idea is to balance Arizona public-records law with a newer state statute that cites the government’s obligation to secure residents from identity poachers.
Police public-information officers said they will immediately begin identifying criminal suspects by name, age and race only – not by date of birth, even if they are booked into jail. Victims’ dates of birth also would be withheld.
“In general, the names of victims are eligible to be released, however, there will be exceptions,” Phoenix Sgt. Andy Hill said in a letter to Valley media.
Phoenix Assistant City Attorney Sandra Hunter said the city began reviewing how to restrict the public flow of personal identifying information in 2007. The recommendation was handed down in recent weeks, though police public-affairs leaders said Phoenix would adopt its official operations policy in the near future.
Hunter said information that “has nothing to do with the business of the police department,” public safety or public-records law will likely be struck from the written record.
“If it’s exclusively private, we’ll do our best to protect it,” said Hunter, an assistant city attorney whose primary client is the Police Department.
“The biggest interplay is going to be with public-records law,” she said.
“Generally, the names of victims are going to be disclosed, as well as the names of suspects.”
Hunter doesn’t know of any lawsuit against Phoenix or any specific resident concerns about public record leading to identity theft. However, she said the police policy shift is designed to proactively avoid identity-theft claims.
Beckie Miller, who leads the Phoenix chapter of the national non-profit Parents of Murdered Children, said she understands the need to withhold information.
“From the victim’s perspective, each one of those things traumatizes them more when (the media) doesn’t get it right,” she said.
Tim McGuire, a professor and former newspaper editor who teaches the business of journalism at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said the decision could meet with resistance from Valley media and civic journalism advocates.
“In the case of suspects, I think it’s a disaster to not include information like (dates of birth) because it’s going to lead to the real danger of mistaken identity,” McGuire said.