Wednesday August 8, 2012

Police SOP on newsmen soon

KUALA LUMPUR: A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on how the police should handle media practitioners covering public rallies will be formulated soon.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the SOP, to be announced in a month, would consider the views of media practitioners who covered the opposition-backed rally on April 28.

“The police and media must sit together to discuss the SOP. We want members of the media to give us suggestions as you were there and witnessed what actually transpired,” he said after a Ramadan function organised by Wanita Umno here yesterday.

Independent panel chairman Tun Hanif Omar, in presenting the report on July 16, said police did not have such an SOP in place and this had resulted in journalists and photographers suffering injuries.

Hanif, a former IGP, said the absence of directives from superiors to subordinates on how to deal with the media led them to make their own decisions.

Ismail urged media practitioners, who were injured during the rally, to give their views and ideas for the formulation of the SOP.

Earlier, the IGP commended Wanita Umno for donating Hari Raya goodies to police personnel who had to be on duty during the festivity.

Some 8,000 packages were distributed to members of the police, armed forces, and Fire and Rescue and Civil Defence departments - Bernama.

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