Why are police keeping the names of homicide victims secret?
Last week Regina Police made the announcement they would no longer release the names of homicide victims, meaning anyone murdered in the city would stay anonymous until their name revealed by court or family (they’ve temporarily reversed that decision but the reversal could be short lived)
This isn’t unique to Regina, last year Edmonton police adopted a policy of only releasing victim’s names if officers “deemed it critical to an ongoing investigation”
Meanwhile here in BC, RCMP are facing questions are they continue to refuse to release the name of a man shot to death by POLICE during an attempted arrest at a Nanaimo ferry terminal
Do police have the right to keep this information from the public? Is it wrong (and morbid) of the public to want to know the identities of homicide victims?
Guest: Tristin Hopper - Columnist, National Post