NCJ Number
208260
Date Published
December 2004
Length
88 pages
Annotation
This report provides Crime and Misconduct Commission recommendations concerning media access to police voice communications in Queensland, Australia.
Abstract
Police and other public safety organizations around the world are moving in the direction of secure digital radio communications as a means of both internal and interagency communication. However, the decision by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to adopt encrypted digital radio communication technology led to an uprising by local media who claimed that denying them access to police communications was crucial to ensuring external scrutiny of police activities and timely and accurate reporting of crime and safety issues. The QPS, on the other hand, maintained that the secure communication technology would enhance protection to police officers and the public by enhancing the ability of police to provide sensitive and protected information via their voice communication lines. As a result of the outcry, the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) held public meetings over 4 days to consider all relevant information. The result was 14 recommendations offered by the Commission that aim to ensure the efficient, transparent, and technically feasible information sharing practices between the police and the media in Queensland, while at the same time protecting the privacy of individuals. The Commission concluded that the media should have reasonable access to police communications, with certain provisions. It was recommended that police use computer processes to provide information to the media in the form of data, rather than voice, in order to ensure real-time information access as well as the protection of individual privacy. Appendixes, references