No doubt, the police have a tough job knowing what information to disclose and not disclose to the public when they’re in the middle of an investigation. They have to strike a balance between being open, accountable and eliciting public support, while at the same time respecting people’s privacy and not jeopardizing a case by putting too much information into the public domain.
I’m on to this now as there has been a lot of chatter on the Richmond News’ Facebook page about a “missing teen.”
When the girl had been gone a number of days, the police declared her missing and sought the public’s help in finding her. A few days later, she was located and the police issued a statement saying just that — and that’s when the online posts began. Comments varied, but most were in the vein of, “What, that’s it? You’re going to just leave us hanging?”
When it comes to a kid gone missing, it’s hard not to feel invested in the outcome. Who doesn’t want to know the whys and wherefores. Moreover, if people feel like they’ve suddenly been shut out of the ongoing drama, they may be less likely to help out the next time.
All that said, if there’s been no foul play, no one’s been charged, and the kid is safe, it really is time for us to butt out and just be thankful the story doesn’t have a different ending. In hindsight, perhaps a missing person advisory wasn’t necessary, but imagine the outrage if police hadn’t taken the issue seriously when they should have.
But while it makes sense to me that the police are suddenly “mom” on this case, I’m scratching my head over their refusal to disclose any details regarding the fatality of cyclist Christy Mahy, the young woman who was hit by a car on Russ Baker Way as she stood at an intersection.
As her father Ron Mahy prepares to mark the two-year anniversary of the tragedy with a motorcycle ride in her honour (July 30), he’s not much closer to knowing what happened that fateful day. The driver of the car stayed at the scene, so this isn’t a case of a suspect at large — at least it shouldn’t be. A year ago, Mahy was told the “person of interest,” had returned to the UK, which they were entitled to do as they hadn’t been charged. Nevertheless, the investigation was ongoing. A year later, and still nothing.
Police reticence breeds suspicion that this case was somehow bungled. I truly hope not. I hope there’s a really good reason why the family, nevermind the public, are being kept in the dark. But at some point, we need an explanation as to where the investigation is at and why. Reporter Philip Raphael will be asking just that in our story next week.
