The National Police Administration has reportedly implemented new guidelines for their press releases. Under the new guidelines, police will no longer release the names and ages of suspects and persons arrested, nor arrange for the media to photograph them while the investigation is ongoing. This decision to respect the suspects' rights, although belated, is still worthy of praise.
I have long opposed the police's practice of announcing its success in "cracking a case" and then arranging for a photo session of the suspect(s). Such behavior is not only legally tenuous, but unwise. The suspects' rights are, of course, encroached upon during the process, and the credibility and reputation of the police are injured as well. The erroneous and premature decision to tell the public that they cracked the case in the infamous "Wu Ju-yueh (
The prosecutor is a civil servant who is pressing charges on the behalf of the state. The private plaintiff is the crime victim personally pressing charges. In either case, the judge is the only one authorized to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. "Cracking a case" should refer to situations in which the culprit has been found and his or her crime has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt. Otherwise, the case should still be considered open. If the public prosecutor has the authority to say wether a case has been cracked, then private plaintiffs should have the same right.
In reality, neither the prosecutor nor the police have the authority to announce that a case has been cracked. The police's duty lies only in fighting and preventing crime and following the prosecutor's lead in investigations. The police may act on their own in investigating crimes and criminals and gather evidence, but ultimately they must turn over their findings to the prosecutor. The prosecutor will then decide whether to prosecute or press charges.
Although the police will no longer announce that wether or not they have solved a case, their efforts in fighting crime should not be overlooked. However, they should avoid the embarrassment of announcing that a case has been cracked, only to find out later that they were wrong.
Yu Ying-fu is a lawyer.
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