Corporate Communications

We will, of course, always use the highest quality CCTV, or clearest image available to us, in our appeals. However, the quality of CCTV systems does vary, and unfortunately a clear image or video isn’t always captured.

Nevertheless, our experience shows publishing these images is worthwhile. Sometimes it just takes one person to recognise a distinctive piece of clothing, hat or haircut to give us that vital breakthrough and help us identify individuals.

Public appeals are just one of a number of lines of enquiry we will undertake to help us bring justice for victims of crime.

For operational reasons, it may be appropriate to carry out certain enquiries before details of an incident are published. In addition, we must always consider the victim’s wishes when releasing information relevant to them.

You may have read that a suspect has been ‘released under investigation’ or ‘released on bail’. Here's what it means.

First things first – it doesn’t mean a suspect has been let off.

It’s totally different to being ‘released with no further action’.

It doesn’t mean they won’t be prosecuted either, or that we no longer think they’re a suspect.

What is does mean is we’ve arrested someone and we need to do further investigative work before we can decide what happens next.

Common reasons for this are:
• We need to speak to witnesses or other suspects
• We have to send things to be forensically tested
• We need to track down and go through CCTV or similar evidence
• We have to build a case file in other ways so it is strong enough to secure a prosecution

When someone is released in this way, they either come back to a police station on a set date if they’re on bail or we update them if they’re under investigation. They may then be charged, rebailed or face no further action.

If a case went to court too early, it could fall apart due to weak evidence.

So we have to investigate and build a case robustly before someone can be charged with a crime, which can take time.

It all works like this because we can only hold suspects in custody for 24 hours (it can be extended for very serious crimes).

It’s sometimes possible to keep someone in custody beyond that point… this is known as a ‘remand’. It means a suspect goes straight from the cells to court.

Remands can be used in certain serious cases, including when there’s a clear chance someone is likely to reoffend or there’s a risk they’ll disappear.

We don’t decide on the criteria for releasing people under investigation or on bail – it’s set nationally.

The vast majority of suspects we release under investigation or on bail turn up exactly when they’re supposed to.

If the suspect fails to turn up, they become ‘wanted’ and a warrant is issued for their immediate arrest – you’ll have seen those appeals here.

They are arrested on sight and are then likely to be remanded in custody. They could also face a bigger sentence at court.

So again, released under investigation or on bail doesn’t mean we’ve let someone off – it means we’re working on it.

Police will not name those arrested, or suspected of a crime, save in exceptional circumstances where there is a legitimate policing purpose to do so. A legitimate policing purpose may include circumstances such as a threat to life, the prevention or detection of crime, or where police have made a public warning about a wanted individual. In certain circumstances, this may include people who have failed to answer bail.

We can – and do – proactively release information about court outcomes, such as the names of those convicted of offences, as a way of improving public confidence in the criminal justice system.

For more information, please refer to the Media relations authorised professional practice from the College of Policing.

Not every investigation we carry out needs one. An appeal is just one of many lines of enquiry. They are considered on a case-by-case basis, and used when the officer investigating an incident believes it could help generate new information.

Certain news items published to our website and social media remain live for a specific time:

• Appeals involving images of unknown people remain live for 30 days.
• ​Coroner’s appeals for next of kin remain live for 30 days.
• Court outcomes remain live for six months.
• News items about criminal behaviour orders remain live for the length of the order.
• Wanted appeals for named people remain live for 30 days.

After a news item reaches its expiry date, it will automatically be unpublished from our website and social media.

Some news items may be removed before they reach their expiry date, if they have fulfilled their policing purpose.

A successful working relationship between the police service and the media is vital. Working with the media to communicate to the public can help solve crimes, bring offenders to justice and keep communities safe. It can also give the public insight into what the police are doing and why they are doing it.

Many media outlets are governed by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The Editors’ Code of Practice is a set of rules that these outlets have agreed to accept. It sets the standards that newspapers and magazines can be held to account by IPSO, and is part of the contract between IPSO and the newspapers and magazines it regulates.

A sentence is the punishment a judge or magistrate decides should be given to someone who has been convicted of a crime.

The police investigate crime and prepare evidence. We do not have any powers to sentence offenders when they appear in court.

Judges and magistrates decide on the appropriate type and length of sentence. They must work within the laws set by parliament, and follow sentencing guidelines where they exist. They are independent of parliament, the government and the police.

The Sentencing Council has more information about how offenders are sentenced.

In the first instance, please email [email protected] with the following, essential information:

• Name of production company
• Key contact information
• Has the programme been commissioned?
• If so, for which channel?
• Is it a series or one-off programme?
• What are the anticipated filming dates?
• What aspect of policing do you wish to cover and why?
• What is the objective of your programme?
• Are you looking to film with multiple police forces or just one?
• What is your organisation’s experience of working with the police or in a similar environment?
• Please be aware that, in line with other forces, North Yorkshire Police charges production companies for the access and support required to film a documentary.

We will only consider requests that answer all of the above.

Please note: This does not apply to news media in respect of news programmes, crime appeals, Crimewatch, and media facilities such as press conferences, one-to-one interviews or invitations to accompany operational police officers for current news items.