Police Media Contact Rule
The simple rule included within the 'Interim ACPO Guidance for Relationships with the Media' should be adopted as good practice. This is: "Police officers and staff should ask: 'am I the person responsible for communicating about this issue and is there a policing purpose for doing so?' If the answer to both parts of this question is 'yes', they should go ahead."
- The College of Policing Code of Ethics, published in 2014, sets out standards of professional behaviour including guidance on relationships with the media and the need for a legitimate policing purpose for such contacts (College of Policing, Code of Ethics, 2014).
- The NPCC adopted the principle from the interim ACPO guidance on media relationships into its standing guidance (NPCC, Communications guidance).
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedThe Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "Lord Justice Leveson makes a number of recommendations that are designed to break the perception of an excessively cosy relationship between the press and the police and we support these recommendations." The College of Policing published Authorised Professional Practice on Media Relations in May 2013 implementing the police recommendations. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
The College of Policing adopted the two-part test for police-media contact as standard guidance: officers should ask whether they are responsible for communicating on the issue and whether there is a policing purpose.
View detailed findings
The recommended good practice rule on police-media contact was adopted.