Illinois police decide to stop hiding juvenile cases after rash of attacks alarms public
This story illustrates exactly why police reports need to be public. Police in Peoria, Ill., had a longstanding policy of hiding any crime reports involving juveniles, only providing them if someone knew about it already and asked for it specifically. As a result, attacks on teenage girls recently went unreported for weeks, angering parents because they were kept in the dark (it only came to light after a relative of the victim went to the media to complain about the secrecy). So now the police are changing their policy: crimes involving juveniles will be available and known to the media with names redacted. Hey, just like most other places in this country. No telling how many other police agencies hide away certain reports, available "only upon request." Journalists should not allow that secrecy to happen, for the good of the children and community. See
story.