Policy Text
Detective Division Page 1 of 2 3/15.0 (REV 1/90)
PRESS POLICY AND RELEASE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION
The purpose of this order is to r estate the policy of the Sheri ff’s Department in regard to
the release of informa tion to the news media.
I. General
It is the policy of the Sheriff’ s Department that the news medi a relations officer
shall be the primary individual responsible for the release of information to the
news media. That policy is exp ressed in Sheriff’s Department Ge neral Order
7/01.1.
It is also realized that the news m edia relations officer may n ot always be
available for release of info rmation to the media; therefore, e very effort shall be
made to control the release of i nformation in accordance with p rocedures as
identified in General O rder 7/01.1. Upon release of information regarding any
case, the news media relations offi cer or his/her secretary sha ll be advised of
where, when, what, and to whom t he information was given. Detec tive Division
personnel are encouraged, prior to talking to any reporter, to contact the news
media relations officer to det ermine whether the information be ing sought will
conflict with ongoing Internal Affa irs investigations, the inve stigation of another
police agency, or some other iss ue beyond the scope of a simple investigation.
The senior investigator is aut horized to contact the news media relations officer
at any time of the day or nigh t by radio or telephone to discus s the development
of a case, a reporter’s request, o r to have the news media rela tions officer
respond. The news media relations officer may be reached via pa ger/cell phone
by contacting the Communications Center. Where news media requests are rec eived on cases under active in vestigation, it
will be the policy of the Detect ive Division to respond only du ring business hours,
Monday through Friday. After hours or weekend responses shall b e made by the
news media relations officer. In all cases, a summary of the information released to the medi a will be made
immediately available to the division commander and bureau comm ander of the
affected bureau. Information gi ven to the press and not made kn own to the
proper authorities can be a source of great embarrassment to th e Sheriff’s
Department. Failure to coordinate release of information is not acceptable.
Detective Division Page 2 of 2 3/15.0 (REV 1/90)
Where Detective Divisi on personnel are involved in major invest igation of cases
such as homicides, officer invol ved shootings, employee involve d crimes,
missing juveniles, bombings, dru g labs, and extensive/involved cases with
multiple victims, or suspects w ho are prominent, the news media relations officer
shall be contacted and apprised of developments. The media offi cer shall
coordinate any releases made to the media. It shall be the policy of the Dete ctive Division to use the abi lity of the news media
to display a suspect’s photograph and identity whenever investi gative leads have
been exhausted and appr ehension appears unlikely. Further reque sts for media
assistance shall be made to dis play the photos of missing child ren/adults where
criminal activity (foul play) i s suspected. Detectives will use the news media
relations officer to expedite and coordinate the release of mat erial to the media in
order to ensure uniformity and fa irness to all agencies that de sire the information
and material. Where the release of a case to T he Sacramento Bee Secret Witnes s Program or
the Crime Alert Progr am is being considered, the news media rel ations officer
shall be consulted in order to make that i nformation available to other interested
reporters simultaneously.