City fixes policy on crime reports

We are extremely proud of the more than 50 percent decrease in violent crime in the City of Charleston since 2007. This is a huge achievement and a tribute to the leadership of Chief Greg Mullen and the hard work of the fine officers of the City of Charleston Police Department.

Our department is the largest and I believe the best in the state. We have far less crime than almost every major city in South Carolina. This happens not only because of our wonderful Police Department but because of the great participation and engagement from citizens and neighborhood leaders across the city.

One of the most important things our police department can do is catch criminals through good police work and successfully convict them and put them in jail. While in prison, criminals cannot commit crimes and terrorize our neighborhoods. The dramatic decrease in violent crime in our city is in large measure due to the police department's success in doing just this.

There has been some attention lately on the City of Charleston Police Department's policy towards releasing information about criminal events. Upon the occurrence of a criminal event, our department properly releases information to the media outlets and citizens.

It is important that our citizens are aware of criminal activity in our city so they can take proper measures to protect themselves. This has been done quickly and well, even as the police are in the midst of investigating crimes to try to solve them and bring the perpetrators to justice. It is very important to understand that our department must be very careful in releasing detailed information of events, which perhaps only the criminal knows. For example, if a victim describes an article of clothing or items taken by the suspect during the crime which are unique, the premature disclosure could negatively impact detectives as they conduct searches for evidence. Should the suspect learn about the evidence being sought by the police, they could easily discard it.

Good police work sometimes requires investigators to withhold information that might tip off the criminal and hinder their ability to bring the perpetrators to justice. This is a careful balancing act our officers must deal with daily.

The recent issue that has been covered in The Post and Courier is that the newspaper raised questions as to whether or not some of our crime reports released to the public should include more information. Chief Mullen and our departmental lawyer studied the issue and concluded that some of the department's reports could indeed release more information to the public.

After a briefing from the departmental leadership, several officers, in an effort to explain the department's policy, issued a preliminary memorandum. In hindsight, given the complexity of the issue, the memorandum should have gone through a staff review prior to its release. Some of the information it contained was incorrect. Once the issue was brought to the department's attention, Chief Mullen acted quickly to correct the information.

The City of Charleston Police Department and Chief Mullen clearly understand their responsibilities to the public's right to know information about crimes in their community. At the same time, they also have a responsibility, which is allowed under our FOIA Act, to withhold key pieces of information that the disclosure of might hinder their ability to bring criminals to justice and get them off the streets of our city. The citizens of Charleston should have complete confidence in the ability of Chief Greg Mullen and the fine officers of our City of Charleston Police Department to balance these imperatives.

Joseph P. Riley Jr. is mayor of Charleston.