Press Release Policy
Press releases will be issued as soon as practicable for incidents of public interest, including but not limited to arrests, citations, road closures, motor vehicle crashes and hazardous scenes.
Press releases shall be constructed using the approved St Johnsbury Police Department templates and delivered using LOCALMEDIANORTH, they will be saved in the case card.
Press releases, media interviews, reports and public information released shall adhere to Vermont’s public record law (1 V.S.A. section 317).
Information that should be released:
- Name, age, sex, town of residence
- Nature and description of incident
- Town and location (non-specific address) of incident
- Date, time and place of arrest or citation
- Offense
- Disposition (lodged, cited)
- Mug shot when possible
Information that cannot be released:
- Names, addresses or any information that would identify the victim of a sex offense, child abuse or neglect, domestic violence or any other crime where the privacy of the individual is protected by law. This includes persons who are taken into protective custody due to mental illness or incapacitation.
- The identity of any critically injured or deceased person prior to notification of next of kin.
- Active criminal investigative information, active criminal intelligence information and surveillance techniques.
- Names of informants and information provided by them.
- Names of complainants or victims unless an individual has specifically authorized release of their name to the media/public
- The identity, testimony or credibility of any witness or prospective witness
- Any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused or to the possibility that a plea of guilty may be entered; or, any opinion as to the merits of the case or of the evidence in the case; the prior criminal record of the accused, or any commentary on the character or reputation of the accused.
- The existence of or the contents of any confession, admission or statement made by the accused or the failure or refusal of the accused to make any statements (except that it may be stated that the accused denies the charge)
- Personnel matters including the existence of internal affairs investigations.
- Home address, telephone numbers and familial information of law enforcement personnel
- Information concerning the planning of raids or other specialized enforcement efforts without the express permission of the Chief of Police.
- The results of any examination or test made, or refusal or failure of the accused to submit to any test or examination, unless the refusal is the basis of charge (DUI refusal).
