https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/why-were-no-longer-naming-suspects-in-minor-crime-stories Skip navigation Logo The Definitive SourceWhy we're no longer naming suspects in minor crime stories * Search * Sections * Topics * About * Contributors Search [ ] Sections * Announcements * Behind the News * Industry Insights * Products and Services Ap 18304654658713 Behind the News A commitment to deep global journalism Nov. 15, 2018 Reportforamerica1 Announcements AP to host 2 Report for America journalists Jan. 17, 2019 Ap 18309858211072 Products and Services Stellar debut for AP VoteCast Nov. 13, 2018 Ap 18310505321596 Industry Insights The importance of trust in polling Nov. 9, 2018 Topics * featured * Definitive-Source * Journalism * Behind the news * Photos * Politics * US News * International news * Announcements * Video * Elections * Text * Awards * Washington * Standards * Photojournalism * Video journalism * Breaking news * Investigative reporting * State news * Government * Images * Data journalism * Photography * Multiformat * Donald Trump * AP Style * Industry insights * Definitive Source * Social media * News Values * AP Stylebook * Multimedia * 2020 presidential campaign * Asia * Defintive-Source * Enterprise * AP Exclusive * COVID-19 * Freedom of Information * Middle East * Science * Freedom of the Press * Latin America * Race calls * Vote count * Local news * Polling * Race and ethnicity * Accountability journalism * Health * Sports * California * Data * Digital products * FOIA * Presidential election * Statement * Statements * Coronavirus * Fact-checking * Immigration * New York * Pulitzer Prize * VoteCast * White House * Africa * All-formats * AP Standards * AP VoteCast * climate change * Hillary Clinton * Journalist safety * Sally Buzbee * Technology About This Blog The Associated Press has been breaking news since 1846. In that time, AP has endeavored to always be accurate, trustworthy and responsive. As news is transmitted in more ways than ever before and in more formats than ever, we remain committed to the highest standards of integrity in all areas of business at AP: from newsgathering to corporate behavior. This blog aims to provide further understanding of AP and transparency in our operations and mission. * Lauren Easton Lauren Easton Director of Media Relations @LaurenEastonAP * Patrick Maks Patrick Maks Media Relations Manager @maksimuspatrick Posted in Behind the News Why we're no longer naming suspects in minor crime stories June 15, 2021, by John Daniszewski John Daniszewski John Daniszewski Vice President for Standards AP will no longer name suspects in minor crime stories, which we sometimes cover and pick up from member news organizations as one-off briefs because they are "odd" and of interest to our customers. John Daniszewski John Daniszewski Vice President for Standards * Facebook icon * Twitter icon * LinkedIn icon * Email icon Short URL: https://blog.ap.org/_10bd blog.ap.org/_10bd TOPICS * Standards * News Values * Ethics * Crime * Behind the news * Law enforcement * US News * featured * Definitive-Source Recent Posts * BEHIND THE NEWS Why we're no longer naming suspects in minor crime stories June 15, 2021 * [SpainElderly_] ANNOUNCEMENTS AP's 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winning photos June 11, 2021 * ANNOUNCEMENTS AP statement on meeting with Israeli ambassador June 8, 2021 Usually, we don't follow up with coverage about the outcome of the cases. We may not know if the charges were later dropped or reduced, as they often are, or if the suspect was later acquitted. These minor stories, which only cover an arrest, have long lives on the internet. AP's broad distribution network can make it difficult for the suspects named in such items to later gain employment or just move on in their lives. Broadly speaking, when evaluating such stories, we should consider first whether the story is worthy of our news report, and if distributing it is indeed useful to our members and customers. If the answer is yes, in keeping with AP's commitment to fairness, we now will no longer name suspects in brief stories about minor crimes in which there is little chance AP will provide coverage beyond the initial arrest. The names of suspects are generally not newsworthy beyond their local communities. We will not link from these stories to others that do name the person, and we will not move mugshots in these cases, since the accused would be identifiable by that photo as well. We also will stop publishing stories driven mainly by a particularly embarrassing mugshot, nor will we publish such mugshots solely because of the appearance of the accused. This policy of not identifying suspects by name applies to minor crime briefs. We will continue to identify suspects by name in stories on significant crimes, such as murder, that would merit ongoing news coverage. In these cases, naming a suspect may be important for public safety reasons. These guidelines also do not include stories about active searches for fugitives. TOPICS: Standards, News Values, Ethics, Crime, Behind the news, Law enforcement, US News, featured, Definitive-Source John Daniszewski John Daniszewski Vice President for Standards Related Posts Definitive Source * RSS - Posts * Terms and conditions * Privacy * Site feedback Cookie Settings More AP Blogs * AP Insights * AP Images Spotlight Stay up to date with The Definitive Source [ ] Please enter a valid email address Thanks! You'll be informed. Site feedback We'd love to hear from you [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comments [ ] Send THANKS! We appreciate your feedback Follow AP * * * * The Associated Press * ap.org * Products and services * Media center * Company The Associated Press * About us * Contact us * Customer Support * Media Center * Careers All contents (c) copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.