Former Police Chief “Those Arrested For Sex Offences Deserve Anonymity”

The former head of the British Transport Police says the chance of a arrest not leading to a charge means anonymity should be preserved.

Andy Trotter, the former chief constable of the British Transport Police, spoke to LBC’s Shelagh Fogarty on her afternoon show to discuss the controversial issue of anonymity around cases of sexual offence.

“I don’t believe people should be named on arrest unless there are some exceptional reasons to do so.” Mr Trotter cited the public impact of being linked with such a case as the main reason why anonymity is needed.

The names of those arrested will be in the public domain, linked with the crime, but as Andy points out, “they might not be charged at all, and yet that suspicion might linger over them.”

Andy says exceptional reasons that might warrant naming the person arrested includes the possibility of the arrest uncovering further crimes, or if there’s an “overriding public interest”

The discussion comes as Sir Cliff Richard addresses politicians in a bid to have the law changed ensuring anonymity for people arrested for sex offences. This follows a very public investigation into the singer for alleged sex offences, for which no charge was ever brought.