THE NORTH’S Policing Board’s human rights committee has criticised the PSNI for publishing photographs of young people involved in rioting and crime in north Belfast and Derry even though police said publication was a success, leading to identification and arrests.
The board’s human rights committee, in a new report, said police “should never release images or other details of any person under the age of 18 years into the public domain [unless] . . . all reasonable methods have been tried and failed”.
The board described as a “retrograde step” the PSNI’s decision to publish photographs of people involved in crime in Derry last year and images of people engaged in the serious rioting over four days in Ardoyne over the last Twelfth of July period. During the Ardoyne attacks a woman police officer was seriously injured when a block was dropped on her head.
It was clear, however, from the PSNI’s response yesterday that it felt publication was justified.
“The decision to release images of individuals into the public domain is not one we take lightly. It is only after all other investigative avenues have been explored do we consider this course of action,” the PSNI said.
It added that it had a duty as a police service to investigate these crimes as thoroughly as possible.
