Police chief defends withholding names of homicide victims
City police Chief Rod Knecht is defending the service’s decision not to identify several 2017 homicide victims.
But, he says, the force’s “default” position continues to be to release the identities of those who are slain.
“We absolutely want to be open and transparent, we want to give the public and the community and everybody as much (information) as we can,” Knecht said at an Edmonton Police Commission meeting on Thursday.
In some homicide cases, however, privacy trumps public interest, he said.
“We are trying to balance multiple needs and to keep everybody happy — that’s a difficult job to do sometimes,” Knecht said.
Police have not named victims in six of the city’s 14 homicides so far this year.
Except under rare circumstances, police have typically released the names of all homicide victims.
The trend comes at a time when RCMP are increasingly withholding the names of victims, citing federal privacy laws — a practice that has been criticized by transparency advocates.
Knecht said cases that involve domestic violence, or children and minors, are instances where police have not released names.
“When we are holding back, sometimes it’s because the victims (loved ones) have asked us to hold back,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a timing issue … We want to be very sensitive to the victims, and particularly around domestic violence.”
It’s also more common for police to identify victims if there is an investigative end, for example when a suspect has not been found.
Some families of victims ask for privacy, but unless there’s a compelling reason to grant it “the name goes out.”
“At the end of the day, the lawyers give us their legal opinion, it’s up to us … to make the decision,” added Knecht.
“We are trying to do a better job of this.”