Information about our appeals process.

Sometimes, we receive comments on our social media channels about the delay between the time of a suspected offence from occurring, to when the appeal has arrived on social media displaying the face of a suspect.  

I want to explain a bit as to why you may see a delay. The speed of the processes depends on how urgent the appeal is deemed to be. A more serious offence, such as a murder, rape or robbery is likely to be sped up under different rules. However, routine appeals generally follow the same procedures, with different time frames.  

Firstly, the suspect will have been identified in the investigation by means of a digital display, whether CCTV, doorbell camera or the like.  

There are other enquiries and practices which must be completed as part of an investigation, which as you will understand, are not documented on social media.  

As we then must look at the proportionality before releasing an image, we need to consider any impact on the rights of the individual in terms of privacy. We need to remember that at the time of the appeal, they are only suspected to have committed an offence and still required to give their version of the incident.  

As we reach this point, we must ensure that we exhaust all other ways of identification. We can’t just say: “They’re in the video – stick them on Facebook”. We have other methods to attempt to identify the suspect, including circulating the image to police colleagues within the force and to other police forces if required. 

We need to consider whether releasing an image will have any negativity on the investigation and prevent the suspect from having a fair trial. There are requirements that no other person can be identified in the image, should the suspect be with another person.  

There are many other considerations and requirements to adhere to before the person’s image can be released on social media.  

When it comes to posting the image – there may be a time lapse of two to three weeks. Most of the appeals usually say: “Do you know…?” or “Do you recognise…?”.  

We aren’t asking: “Have you seen…?” or “Did you witness…?”. 

I’m sure that if you knew/recognised someone a month ago, you will probably still know them now and can provide information.  

Did you know? You don’t have to provide your details if you give information on Crimestoppers. You can call and give anonymous information on 0800 555 111.  

Once a suspect is identified, we then have to issue an update as soon as possible and remove the image from social media and websites. This is to ensure a fair legal process is followed.  

We hope you found this informative and explains the approach we must take with such appeals. 

We’re really grateful for all the support you give to our appeals. It shows how much you care about our community and us, your local policing team.