Regina police reverse course on naming victims

REGINA Mayor Michael Fougere says the Regina Police Service has reversed its decision not to name homicide victims.

But the reversal could be shortlived.

Following a discussion with Chief Evan Bray and other officials, Fougere said the RPS will release the names of homicide victims — with some exceptions, such as taking into account the family’s wishes — until he hears formally from the privacy commissioner.

“I want to see direction from the commissioner directly or formally that this is what they believe,” Fougere said Thursday. “I know there’s been discussion from the chief’s office and the privacy commissioner and that’s all well and good.”

Privacy commissioner Ron Kruzeniski believes the RPS has accurately interpreted legislation governing the privacy of individuals, including those who have died by homicide, in its original decision to not release names.

That decision was made on the basis of the Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulations (LAFOIP), which came into effect on Jan. 1.

“If you look at that act, Section 29 of LAFOIP basically says that information of a deceased person is their personal information and should not be released for 25 years,” Kruzeniski said.

A subsection of the act indicates the information can be released to next of kin.

In Section 28, exceptions are listed where the police can release information, such as when it’s in the public interest.

“The problem with the term ‘public interest’ is that some people give it a broader scope than others,” Kruzeniski said.

“In this case, it would be the police chief determining to himself or herself that this is in the public interest.”

Another exception might be where there could be harm — mental or physical — to others.

“In certain situations where there’s one homicide, there might be risks to other people,” Kruzeniski said. “Another one is where the information is already public.”

Fougere expects the legislation will be discussed at next month’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting.

It was following Tuesday’s board meeting that RPS spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich confirmed to reporters that Regina police would no longer release the identity of homicide victims, except in rare circumstances.

“In cases where no one is charged yet, then it’s an unsolved case and our process moving forward will be not to name the victim in the same way we don’t name victims unless there’s a pressing necessity through the investigation or an identified public safety risk,” she said.

That decision came on the heels of Regina’s most recent homicide on May 23.

“A deceased person has a right to privacy as does the family of the deceased person,” Popowich said.

When someone is charged in relation to a homicide, the name of the victim appears on the information so it’s part of the public record in the courts, she said.

The Saskatoon Police Service earlier said it would continue to release names of homicide victims in certain cases.

In an email to the Saskatoon Starphoenix, SPS spokeswoman Julie C. Clark noted: “Our decision to name (or not name), homicide victims is decided on a case-bycase basis. This decision often stems from the family’s wishes or if the investigation could be compromised by naming the victim.”

The discussion about releasing the names of homicide victims hasn’t emerged as an association issue yet, said Weyburn Police Chief Marlo Pritchard, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.

“Right now, those policy pieces are left to the individual service and the chief to make those decisions,” Pritchard said.

When asked about the Weyburn Police Service’s policy, Pritchard said there hasn’t been a homicide in the community for years but added: “It’s a balance between victims’ rights and the families whether we would release it.”

RCMP spokeswoman Natalie Gray noted the Mounties are bound by the federal privacy act, which protects personal information such as the names of deceased victims.

“There are exemptions under that act and when we do lay charges in a homicide investigation, any information relating to that investigation is available through the court process,” she said, adding that decisions are made case by case and can include cold cases.

“Any time we want to further an investigation and naming the victim would be helpful, that would be a time that we would do it,” Gray said.

Justice Minister Don Morgan voiced concern Wednesday about the RPS’S decision and stated his preference for the information being released.

Kruzeniski acknowledged this is a transition stage and there will be much debate and discussion over the next year or two. But he added: “LAFOIP is the provincial law and each police force is going to have to look at it and sort out their position on it ... I guess if it gets really difficult, there will be a court decision, which will give everybody guidance.”

(When) there’s one homicide, there might be risks to other people. Another ... is where the information is already public.