Campaign for pre-charge anonymity for suspects of sexual offences launched

A petition has been launched to keep the identity of those suspected of sexual offences anonymous until they are charged. This high profile campaign, spearheaded by Falsely Accused Individuals for Reform (FAIR), has had the support of celebrities including Sir Cliff Richard and DJ Paul Gambaccini, who have both previously faced allegations of sexual assault with no arrest.

Guidelines from the College of Policing state that police should not name the suspect, unless there are exceptional circumstances which means there is a legitimate reason to do so.

Perveen Hill, a senior associate in BDB Pitmans’ white collar crime team agrees, explaining that it can be detrimental to an investigation. She comments in The Justice Gap that:

‘[Suspects] should be granted the benefit of privacy.’

The full article is available on The Justice Gap website, here.