| (a) Subject to the limitations outlined as follows, department employees may respond to news media inquiries about criminal investigations in which the department is involved. (b) Release of information concerning criminal investigations may be made only by the officers directly responsible for the investigation, by the Public Information Office or designated public information officer on the scene after consultation with the lead investigating officers. Employees not involved as outlined in this subsection will refer all news media inquiries to the appropriate personnel. (c) When an investigation is being conducted jointly with local officers, releases will be coordinated with them so as to maintain proper working relationships. Every effort should be made in such cases for releases to be handled by the sheriff or chief of police, if he so desires. (d) Once an arrest has been made and primary responsibility for a case has shifted to the prosecutor, news media inquiries should normally be referred to the appropriate county or district attorney. (e) The names of offenders under age 17 should not normally be released. Guidance should be sought from local juvenile authorities in cases involving juvenile offenders. (f) The following information regarding criminal matters may not be released by members of this department: (1) the prior criminal record, including arrests, indictments, or other charges of crime, or the character or reputation of the accused, except that the officer may make a factual statement of the accused's name, age, residence, occupation, and family status, and if the accused has not been apprehended, may release any information necessary to aid in his apprehension or to warn the public of any dangers he may present. Nothing herein should be construed as limiting the right of the news media to obtain and publish conviction data from court or public records; (2) the existence or contents of any confession, admission, or statement given by the accused, or the refusal or failure of the accused to make any statement, except that the officer may announce without further comment that the accused denies the charges made against him; (3) the details or results of any laboratory examinations of evidence in the case, or the results or failure of the accused to submit to any examination including polygraph. This prohibition does not apply to results of blood alcohol concentration tests (breath, blood or urine) or to the accused's failure to submit to such a test; (4) the identity, testimony, or credibility of prospective witnesses, although the officer may announce the identity of the victim unless the offense involved sexual contact; (5) the possibility of a plea of guilty to the offense charged or a lesser offense; (6) any opinion as to the accused's guilt or innocence or as to the merits of the case or the evidence in the case; (7) no member of this department shall deliberately pose a person in custody for photographing or televising by representatives of the news media. This does not limit the right of the news media to photograph the person in custody, in a public place, and on their own initiative. |
| Source Note: The provisions of this §1.52 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; amended to be effective July 11, 1989, 14 TexReg 3146; amended to be effective April 21, 2003, 28 TexReg 3363; amended to be effective October 21, 2004, 29 TexReg 9686 |
