Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2024 August 14

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August 14

Criminal charges: information in the public domain in England

If an individual is charged with a criminal offence in England, is that a matter of public record? Can the charges brought be viewed by the public, and if so how? And say the case never comes to court for whatever reason – for example, because the charges are dropped. Are the reasons for the charges being dropped made public? --Viennese Waltz 14:51, 14 August 2024 (UTC)

In the United Kingdom a D-Notice is an official request to news editors not to publish or broadcast items on specified subjects for reasons of national security. The Independent Press Standards Organisation is supposed to deal with issues such as accuracy, invasion of privacy, intrusion into grief or shock and harassment. Philvoids (talk) 20:57, 14 August 2024 (UTC)

National Security - the next-to-last refuge of a scoundrel. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:50, 15 August 2024 (UTC)

No, it is not by default part of the public record. Not all charges lead to trials (trials are by default public), and people who are charged or investigated generally have the right to privacy considered and balanced. See here for more info: https://www.brettwilson.co.uk/blog/reporting-restrictions-in-criminal-courts/ (a blog post but it refers to cases). For dropping charges, sometimes it is part of a plea deal and up to the parties in question sometimes as part of the deal itself whether or not it will be public.

For family courts, it is even more likely to be secret, but changing recently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64411229 - Komonzia (talk) 04:02, 15 August 2024 (UTC)