So often after the Mercury publishes another article on a drug bust or other crimes, be it impaired driving or any other serious type of offence, instantly the comments and messages start piling up. “Why aren’t there any names?” “Good to know, why weren’t the offenders named?” “Names please.” And so on, and so forth.
Sometimes the readers inquire politely, other times it seems that they are mad beforehand and almost blame the media for not releasing the names. I see these types of inquiries in any media allowing to comment on their content.
Why do we sometimes publish the information about offenders and other times we don’t? After another tidal wave, I decided to dedicate a bit of time and break it down.
So when you read an article about the criminal offence committed by someone whose name is not mentioned in the story, there might be a few reasons for that.
First of all, if any kind of criminal charges are pressed, but haven’t been taken to court yet, hardly ever will the law enforcement agencies, which become the source of information for media in those situations, release the names. Why one may ask. Because we are still living in a free country where section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, "Any person charged with an offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.”
And even when the case may seem pretty obvious, this rule works and no one’s reputation and life should be destroyed for the sake of one’s curiosity.
Back in 2018, the police started releasing names of individuals charged with impaired driving. The hope was that the offenders’ fame would make the communities report them if they attempt to drive while their licence was suspended. Besides, this move could have helped law enforcement agencies to crack down on impaired driving, which remains a significant problem all across the country.
However, in most cases, the results of such reports looked more like a public naming and shaming act. And even though the individuals were charged with impaired driving, not necessarily were they were proven guilty after all. But the damage was done.
That said, the Canadian justice system is an open process and the name of any adult charged with a crime is a part of public record, so it can appear in the stories when the case is taken to court. But unless our reporter is present at the court hearing, we may not know the names.
Besides, even when the offenders have been proven guilty, sometimes identity can’t be released if it will compromise the identity of the victim or witnesses, which often can be a case in smaller communities like Estevan. In such cases, the identity isn’t released by the source of the information – the court, police, RCMP, etc. So nobody except the parties involved knows it.
But the question I feel pulsing in my head every time I see people inquiring about the names is why. Why do you need to know the names?
If it’s your neighbour or someone you know are you going to go trash them? Are you going to spit in their face when you meet them in the store or on the street? Are you going to throw a rock at them? Or is it just the curiosity and the itching need to shame and blame someone?
You might feel threatened assuming there is an offender living in the community, but in such cases the law enforcement does all they can (and I guess more than citizens can) to protect everybody and proceeds with restriction measures accordingly.
We have the court system to hear the case, analyze, hold the scales even and sentence. And if they are proven guilty, the court is to decide on the sentence and punishment. Others can’t do any of that themselves, otherwise, there is a good chance they will end up in that same courtroom next.
The bottom line, we all make mistakes and we pay for them. Through centuries we created a system to judge and punish ourselves for our mistakes thus protecting the society from offenders.
I’m not sure if there is a way to say if the release of names of individuals charged with impaired driving helps the police to fight the significant and widespread problem on its own. If it does, it’s definitely worth it. But in other cases, isn’t it a better idea to leave the judging up to the court? And maybe instead check out your own garden in case it’s not that perfect and may take some attention before it gets worse?
Because often what I see happening in the virtual world looks pretty much like lynching, just 21-century style. Of course, no one dies, just the reputation. But sometimes it might seem even worse.
