Press Behaviour and the Criminal Law
| Published date | 01 April 1958 |
| Author | J. A. Coutts |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835802200210 |
| Date | 01 April 1958 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Press Behaviour and the
Criminal
Law
By PROFESSOR J. A.
COUTTS
Dean
of
the Faculty
of
Law, University
of
Bristol
MANY allegations have recently been made of most
outrageous conduct on
the
part
of some newspaper
reporters
and
photographers.
These
allegations have led one
writer to ask bluntly whether
the
law does
not
afford some
protection against these practices, while another writer has
asserted as bluntly
that
"the
law affords no remedy".
It
is the
purpose of this article to examine this statement,
upon
the
assumption
that
instances of practices such as those alleged
have occurred.'
In
January, a
Dutch
girl was
murdered
in England
and
within five minutes of
her
family receiving this information
reporters
"swarmed
into their flat"
and
had to be
"thrown
out".
English friends of the family were pestered for items of
gossip
and
one reporter threatened, on their refusal, to make
up
some news, which he did.
When
the
family arrived from
Holland, they were subjected to a barrage of cameras as they
drove from
the
dock gates
and
an attempt was made to
photograph
them
even as they went to identify their daughter's
body. Alittle later, following an aeroplane crash in Munich,
complaint was made of
"the
flash of camera bulbs from six or
more photographers at a time as they walked into
the
ward in
1
Some
of
these
allegations,
relating
to
events
occurring
after
the
aeroplane
crash,
at
Munich
mentioned
below,
have
been
denied
by
newspaper
reporters
and
photo
•.
graphers,
Other
allegations,
relating
to
events
following
the
death
of
a
Dutch
gtrl;
have
not
been
denied;
but,
in
this
case, it
must
be
added
that,
since
no
particular'
person
was
accused
of
the
practices
objected
to, it is
perhaps
not
surprising
that
no,
pressman
has
constituted
himself
a
voluntary
defendant.
That
the
events
outlined
above
actually
occurred,
however,
few will
doubt.
145
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