Our Media and Social Media practices

All police forces across England and Wales have a media and communications function. The purpose of the communications function is to manage a flow of information between the police, the public and the media on a 24-hour, 365 days-a-year basis.

We recognise that people like to consume information in a variety of different ways, and we publish our communications to social media, our news pages, our media centre, facilitate responses to media enquiries, work with partners and stakeholders, and participate in TV and radio interviews – all with the aim to keep our community reassured and informed.  

We communicate openly and transparently, in line with UK’s principles of open justice and in accordance with the UK legal and regulatory framework for publication of criminal justice outcomes. Our communications are intended to create confidence in the force in that justice is done and seen to be done, helping prevent others from committing similar crimes and encouraging victims to have faith in the criminal justice system. 

As a matter of routine our communications will include appeals, updates on criminal investigations such as arrests and charges, court outcomes, information to support victims and crime prevention advice.  

We adhere to the UK’s principles of open justice - that justice must be done and be seen to be done. When publishing our communications, we are compliant with the UK legal and regulatory framework for publication of criminal justice outcomes which requires reporting to adhere to:  

• The Contempt of Court Act 1981 

• The Sexual Offences Act 2003 

• The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 

• Children and Young Persons Act 1933 

• Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 

• Defamation Act 2013 

• Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998 

• Human Rights Act 1998 

• Data Protection Act 2018 

• College of Policing Media and Engagement Approved Professional Practice.

Appeals  

Details about a crime or incident may be released to the public for the purpose of appealing for witnesses, information, and/or relevant photos and videos. Public appeals often go alongside other operational activity such as house-to-house enquiries and CCTV trawls and are an effective way of gathering information and evidence to be used as part of an investigation.  

Appeals may also be issued with the purpose of helping to find a person who has been reported missing, or to find a person who is wanted by police. Please see the missing and wanted sections below for more information on how these appeals are managed.  

Arrest and/or charge updates  

If an arrest is made or charges secured as part of an investigation, details may be shared with the public and media. This can be done reactively in response to specific enquiries received from accredited media representatives, or proactively by the Media & Communications Department if there is felt to be an operational benefit.  

Operational benefits include the chance of identifying victims and/or witnesses; or providing reassurance to our communities that action has been taken in response to reported criminal activity. This is particularly relevant where details of a crime taking place have already entered the public domain and there is a need to issue an update.  

The police have a duty to inform the media where an arrest or charge has been made in a case as proceedings then becoming legally active and reporting restrictions apply. Please see the sections below for more details on those restrictions and the information that can be shared at the different stages of proceedings.  

Conviction

The Media & Communications Department will routinely publish court outcomes, in line with the principles of open justice, to show justice being done and create confidence in the police force and criminal justice system. This in turn helps deter others from committing similar crimes and encourages victims to come forward and report offences.  

Legitimacy is an essential aspect of the British policing model and is well established in the UK as ‘policing by consent.’ The more the public supports the police by providing information or being involved in policing activities, the greater the scope for police forces to prevent or resolve crime and other incidents. Being fair, respectful, open, and transparent in communications can motivate the public to cooperate with the police and respect the law. 

The principle of open justice gives the public the right to know what happens in court proceedings – that is why courts are open to the public and cases heard before the court are a matter of public record. UK legal and regulatory framework directs what can and cannot be reported at the various stages of a criminal investigation.  

Sussex Police adopts the following standard approach to its communications; these are subject to variance on a case-by-case basis to ensure the integrity of our investigations: 

Arrests

College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice on Media Relations says police forces should not name a person at the point they have been arrested on suspicion of an offence, save in exceptional and identified circumstances where there is a threat to life, to help the prevention or detection of crime, or if it is a matter of public interest and confidence. This is because the person arrested still has a reasonable expectation of privacy having not been charged or convicted of any offence. 

It is important to note that while police forces adhere to this practice, there is no legal right to anonymity and some media outlets will name a person at the point they have been arrested.  
 
Charges 

At the point, a person is charged or summonsed with an offence, they no longer have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and their details become a matter of public court record.  

Section 52A of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 lists the information that can be published from the point of a preliminary hearing at a magistrates’ court:  

• name, date of birth, home address and occupation of the accused;  

• name of the court and the magistrates’ names; 

• charge(s) in full or summarised; 

• name of counsel and solicitors engaged in the proceedings; 

• arrangements as to bail – whether bail was granted and if it was, any conditions and surety arrangement; 

• if proceedings are adjourned, the date and place to which they are adjourned  

Details of a defendant’s address are given to prevent misidentification of someone else with the same name and age. 

A person who has been charged with an offence still has the right to a fair trial. The Contempt of Court Act 1981 prohibits reporting of any detail which could impact on the person’s right to a fair trial, such as any insinuation of guilt or evidence of previous bad character.  

A court can impose reporting restrictions that further limit the information that can be released about proceedings – see below for more information. 

A person may not be named at the point of charge if there is an exceptional and legitimate policing purpose or real and serious risk to a person’s safety. 

Convictions and sentences

At the point of conviction and sentence, the information we publish will continue to include a person’s name, age, and the road name and town of their address.  

Details of their offending will also be included. Reports must be fair, accurate and published contemporaneously to ensure they are protected against any action for defamation, under privilege granted by the Defamation Act 2013. 
 
Criminal orders  

The force will name those issued with criminal orders such as: 

• Criminal Protection Notice (CPN) 

• Criminal Protection Warning (CPW) 

• Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) 

• Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN) 

• Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) 

• Sexual Risk Order (SRO) 

• Serious Violence Reduction Order (SVRO) 

By publishing details of these orders into the public domain, it aids with the reporting and enforcement of any subsequent breaches.   
 
Reporting restrictions

Communications published into the public domain must abide by reporting restrictions and comply with statute such as: 

• The Contempt of Court Act 1981 

• The Sexual Offences Act 2003 

• The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 

• Children and Young Persons Act 1993 

• Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999  

• Defamation Act 2013 

• Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 

• Crime and Disorder Act 1998 

Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1993 grants automatic anonymity to any persons under the age of 18 involved in youth court proceedings. This includes defendants, victims/alleged victims, and witnesses. The court can decide to lift reporting restrictions in specific circumstances – to avoid injustice, to trace a person unlawfully at large, or if it is in the public interest.  

Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 also has discretionary powers to restrict reporting the identity of victims, witnesses, and defendants under the age of 18 who appear in either the Magistrates’ Court or the Crown Court.  

This anonymity will remain until that person reaches the age of 18 unless the criminal court grants life-long anonymity to child victims and witnesses.  

Section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendments) Act 1992 grants automatic lifelong anonymity to any victim or alleged victim of sexual offence(s). A victim can choose to waive their right to anonymity at any point during or after the proceedings.  

Where reporting restrictions apply, no matter relating to that individual shall be included in any publication if it is likely to lead members of the public to identify the person. This includes their name, address, the identity of any educational establishment or workplace they may attend, or any still or moving picture of them.  

Care must also be taken to ensure the identity of a person protected by law is not revealed via jigsaw identification. This is where information contained in different publications, when considered together, amounts to the identification of a person granted anonymity. Even if no publication names an individual, a combination of personal details contained within multiple reports can be enough to lead to a person’s identification. This would result in a breach of a reporting restriction.  

It is important to know that reporting as a term is not reserved for publications by the media. Any individual who publishes or reports on information that breaches the restrictions referenced above, can find themselves subject to prosecution. This includes a member of the public posting comments on social media.

In accordance with the Sussex Police Missing Persons Policy (558) it may be necessary and appropriate for the force to issue publicity appeals during a missing person investigation.  

The decision to issue a missing person appeal is made on a case-by-case basis and is a specific investigative tactic. A rationale for launching an appeal, or deciding not to, is recorded as part of the investigation.  

Wherever possible, the missing person’s next of kin will be asked to provide consent for an appeal and facilitate it by providing a recent photo for use in any publicity. In some circumstances we use custody photos as part of our publicity appeals where next of kin is unable to supply a photo, or a custody photo may be a more recent likeness or expedite the publication of an appeal.  

Appeals can be published to a series of platforms including force and/or geographic social media accounts, the force’s news pages, the force’s media centre, and where proportionate, via briefings to journalists. 

Following national guidance, our appeals only include the first name of the missing person, unless in exceptional circumstances where it is felt the inclusion of a person’s surname will specifically assist in the efforts to find the missing person.  

This is to help safeguard the missing person, who is often vulnerable, and to prevent any impact on the missing person in later life as a result of any digital or social footprint from the appeal. 

Personal information about a missing person will only be included where it is felt necessary and proportionate in helping to find the missing person.  

As a matter of routine, we will include descriptive details such as what they are believed or known to be wearing, height, build, hair style and colour, and any other information that is pertinent to helping the public in identifying the person, should they encounter them.  

Appeals are not removed until a police officer has been able to have direct contact with the missing person and is satisfied, they are safe.  

Comments on social media from the missing person are not sufficient cause for an appeal to be removed.  

Similarly, assurances from friends or family that a person has been found will need to be validated by an officer.  

The publication of a missing person appeal must be proportionate and ensure any details or commentary does not increase the individual’s risk of harm, for example, of exploitation, crime, or illness. A missing person’s individual circumstances, including an assessment of the risk involved, are taken into consideration when determining how widely an appeal is shared – for example, whether it is published to force or geographical social media channels. At times we may also use paid advertising to increase the number of people that see our appeals, to help us locate a missing person faster, or ask other police forces to share our appeals if we believe a person is in, or has links to, other areas within the UK. 

In most cases, a missing person appeal is published with comments enabled as it facilitates the appeal being shown to more people and increases the likelihood of the person being found quicker. There is also 24-hour moderation in place on comments posted to the force social media accounts.

We must balance this decision carefully with the need to protect the individual’s welfare, particularly where there are known vulnerabilities.  

Photos will be removed and limited details will be published in any update when the missing person is found, to ensure their privacy is protected as far as possible.  

A public appeal for a wanted person can be released to help apprehend a person when it is considered necessary and proportionate to the needs of the investigation.  

Only information that is necessary in helping identify and/or locate the wanted person will be released. This includes their name, age, geographical areas they have links to, their photograph, and the offence for which they are wanted.  

The release of a wanted appeal will be authorised by the officer in command of the investigation and a senior officer of Inspector rank or above who confirms the appeal is proportionate and that all other reasonable lines of enquiry have been completed prior to the issuing of a public appeal.  

On occasion, the force will run a creative social media campaign for its wanted person appeals. This tactic is used to amplify the reach of an appeal, helping increase its chances of an arrest and a successful operational outcome. The officer in command of a wanted person investigation will be consulted in advance to ensure the case is appropriate for the creative theme.  

At other times we may use paid advertising to increase the number of people that see our appeals, again to help increase the chances of arrest.

There are a number of scenarios in which we will release images or videos of people as part of our communications: 

Custody photos 

The publication of custody photos is in line with the UK’s principles of open justice in that it demonstrates openness and transparency in the criminal justice system. By showing justice being done, it reassures and informs the public, encourages witnesses and/or victims to come forward, and acts as a further deterrent for future criminals. 

It is Sussex Police’s policy to release a custodial image if a defendant has been sentenced to at least three months’ imprisonment or more and once it has been approved by the investigating officer; custodial images will not be released for suspended sentences.  

The force will also issue a photo of a person given a Criminal Behaviour Order to assist the public with the reporting of any breaches of the order.  

In some cases, the force may not have a custodial photo available for release, for example if the defendant was summonsed to court rather than arrested. 

Identification appeals 

It may be necessary for a photograph or video of a person to be released as part of an ongoing investigation, where the person’s identity is not known but is required as a potential suspect or witness in the case.  

The force will always endeavour to use a clear image to aid with identification, however it is not always possible to obtain a good quality image if the available technology does not allow. The image used with any appeal will be the best quality image available at that time. 

At the point the person is successfully identified, the photo will be removed. 

Missing or wanted person appeals 

A photo of a missing person or wanted person will be released alongside an appeal for information on their whereabouts, to assist the public with identifying and locating them. In the case of a missing person, the photograph will have been provided with permission from the person’s next of kin where possible. In some circumstances we will use a custody photo where the next of kin is unable to supply a photo, or a custody photo may be a more recent likeness. At the point the missing or wanted person is found, permission to use the image is rescinded and the photo will be removed.  

Court materials 

Photos and videos shown to court during a trial or sentencing hearing become a matter of public record and are therefore able to be broadcast to aid with the fair, accurate and contemporaneous reporting of court proceedings.  

Sussex Police will consider the release of material shown in court on a case-by-case basis in liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service, according to open justice principles. Evidential material will not be released before it has been shown in court as it could jeopardise proceedings.  

If a conviction has been secured, the force may still consider the release of material not shown in court as part of its reporting. This is a tactic used to generate greater awareness of court outcomes, thus supporting the principles of open justice by sharing the reassurance and deterrent messaging with a wider audience. Any release of materials must still be proportionate. 

Photographs and videos released by Sussex Police are accompanied by a licensing note setting out the terms of use for media. This specifies that the image / video is provided for the explicit purpose of journalistic coverage and commentary, in the public interest, relating to the specific person / case / event with which it is released.  

Communications published to our news pages, media centre and social media channels remain live for a specific and proportionate duration, which is determined based on the subject matter. 

After the communication reaches its expiry date, it will automatically be unpublished from our website and social media channels.  

Some communications and appeals will be manually removed before they reach their expiry date, if they have fulfilled their operational policing purpose.  

Type of communication	Time live on social media	Time live on our website
Arrests	3 months	3 months
Appeals (ID and Information)	3 months	3 months
Charges	3 months	3 months
Convictions	6 months	6 months
Dispersal/Search Orders	1 month	1 month
Homicide/long term missing appeals	For as long as required	For as long as required
Missing person appeal	3 months	3 months
Missing person repeat appeal	6 months	6 months
Missing person found	7 days	7 days
Non-sensitive	12 months	6 months
Sentences	6 months	6 months
Life Sentences/Life Order	60 months	60 months
Tributes	6 months	6 months
Wanted person appeal	6 weeks	6 weeks
Wanted person arrested	7 days	7 days

Subject access requests (SAR) 

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you have a statutory right to have access to personal data we hold about you on computer or in a ‘structured manual file’ (on paper) and how we use that data. 

There may however be valid reasons why we are not be able to disclose some data, for example if it were to impact an ongoing investigation.  

If you wish to ask for, delete or change information that may be held about you by the force, please visit the Request information area of our website.  
 
Please visit the website of the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) for more information. 

Right to be forgotten

This is also known as the right to erasure under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protections Regulations (GDPR). The right enables a person to request an organisation deletes data it holds about that person if it meets the criteria set out here on the Information Commissioners website. 

While the force can erase data, we are not responsible for data held by other organisations who may have published their own communications that include your personal data. A separate request needs to be submitted to each organisation, including search engines such as Google.

Privacy Policy 

Our Privacy Notice tells you how Sussex Police holds, retains, processes, discloses and shares the information we obtain about you. It also explains the rights you have regarding your personal information. Please read our privacy policy for further details.

A successful, open, and transparent 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 is also essential to maintaining and enhancing a positive relationship between the police force and the community it serves.  

Sussex Police works closely with local and national media to ensure accurate and factual reporting of events relevant to Sussex and its community. The Media & Communications Department runs a daily newsdesk to respond to enquiries from journalists about policing activity in the county, including requests for interviews or filming opportunities.  

Details on how the force engages with media can be found in our Service Level Agreement.  

Most media outlets are governed by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice sets out the rules that newspapers and magazines regulated by IPSO have agreed to follow, including around issues as accuracy, privacy, and harassment. Any complaints or breaches of the Editors’ Code should be reported to the media outlet or IPSO directly. Read more on making a Complaint to IPSO.  

Sussex Police communications are publicly available for the duration they remain live on our website and social media channels. Each type of communication has a retention period and after this they are unpublished – see the section above ‘How long are our communications live for’.  

Once our communications are published, they can be shared in both public and private spaces such as to local Facebook groups, or via WhatsApp. 

The sharing of our communications amplifies the number of people who are exposed to the communication, spreading it beyond our network, to a greater number of people. In the case of information appeals, this is incredibly beneficial to help us obtain operational policing information or intelligence. 

Some of our communications take the form of criminal outcomes and we acknowledge that friends and family of suspects and offenders may not expect nor wish to see these matters published by the force. 

At times we receive requests to remove our communications to mitigate against any distress felt by the family and friends of a suspect or offender. Each request of this nature is assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

We will act on any reports of harm or threats of harm as a result of our communications. Please report these to us directly via 101, our online reporting form, or dial 999 in an emergency.  

Each outcome will be unique to the circumstances and may not meet the expectations or wishes of the person making the request where the force believes it proportionate not to make any changes to the communication. 

Sussex Police operates a variety of social media accounts. A number represent the organisation at a force level, others are specific to geographic areas of Sussex, and some are used by specialist teams. 

From these accounts, we share news, information and advice 24-hours a day to keep you in the know on the activities of the force countywide, and in your local neighbourhood. 

Force accounts

These accounts are managed by the Media & Communications team working hand-in-hand with officers and staff from across the force. 

These accounts are moderated 24-hours a day by our contact centre and private messages can be sent to us from Facebook, Instagram, and X (formally Twitter). Social media comments and messages are triaged with crime reports taken in real-time. After being assessed, non-emergency comments and messages are handled by the force’s Media & Communications Department who undertake an engagement role. Links to our accounts are below:   

• Sussex Police Facebook  

• Sussex Police Instagram 

• Sussex Police LinkedIn 

• Sussex Police YouTube 

• Sussex Police X (formally Twitter) 

District accounts 

These accounts are run by our local policing teams representing geographic areas of the county, with oversight from the force’s Media & Communications Department. The content is primarily provided by officers, staff, and volunteers, with the Media & Communications Department also a key contributor. 
 
These accounts are moderated out of hours by our contact centre

Facebook 

Adur & Worthing Police 

Arun Police 

Brighton & Hove 

Chichester Police 

Crawley Police 

Eastbourne Police 

Hastings Police 

Horsham Police 

Lewes Police 

Mid Sussex Police 

Rother Police 

Wealden Police 

We do not take crime reports through our social media channels. To make a report to us dial 999 in an emergency, or for non-emergency matters you can report online through our website, or call us on 101.

We welcome conversation, comments, and questions on our social media accounts and our aim is to foster an environment where our communities can engage with us, and each other, safely and respectfully.  

We moderate our accounts 24-hours a day, which is manual process undertaken by police staff managing multiple actions including crime reporting. 

Community Management guidelines 

In order to maintain a respectful and safe environment we have a series of Community Management guidelines which are applied to any comments made, or directed to us, on our accounts. We reserve the right to determine whether these comments breach the guidelines below. Comments that do will be hidden or deleted and may result in the author being blocked from following or contacting our accounts. Comments that breach our guidelines are removed as promptly as possible, and we use additional moderation controls to automatically hide foul and abusive language, ahead of the manual review of comments. 

Comments may be deleted or hidden if they: 

• Prejudice active criminal proceedings and impact a person’s right to a fair trial by: 
  • Inferring guilt of a person arrested or charged with an offence
  • Allege bad character of a person arrested or charged with an offence
  • Detail previous offences of a person arrested or charged with an offence
• Commit an offence by breaching a reporting restriction or inciting others to do so, which includes naming a person under the age of 18 arrested or charged with an offence. 
• Risk jigsaw identification through the release of additional information about a person who has been granted anonymity by the court. 
• Highlight another person as vulnerable. 
• Discloses personal information about another individual – this is assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on factors including safeguarding, wider context, and the stage of any relevant criminal proceedings. This includes the naming of an individual believed to be involved in criminal proceedings prior to the point of charge, in adherence with national approved professional practice.
• Are defamatory, malicious, obscene, offensive, threatening, abusive, hateful, inflammatory or cause distress to another person. 
• Are hijacked or subject to actions which appear malicious, or designed to cause offence or outrage.
• Promote sexually explicit material or references. 
• Threaten or incite violence or vigilante justice. 
• Promote discrimination based on race, sex, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.  
• Contain unapproved services advertising or promotion. 
• Make allegations that are false. 
• Seek to defraud, financially abuse, or deceive another. 
• Are identical in nature (copy and paste) and repeated more than once. 

The social media platforms themselves also operate their own community guidelines. A breach any of these terms of use will also result in comments being hidden or deleted. Links to these can be found below. 

• Facebook 

• Instagram 

• LinkedIn 

• Twitter 

• YouTube

Blocking users

Those in need of genuine help will never be turned away, but there are times when our service is abused and the public put at risk from content posted by others. Where we have the ability, we reserve the right to block people from following or contacting us on our social media accounts. The decision to block a User from our service is based on the criteria below.

Without the requirement for internal authority, Users can be blocked indefinitely without a right of review, if they:

• Post spam and phishing-type links or content, where we suspect the aim is to defraud or deceive.
• Invite others to add them as friends, where we suspect the aim is to defraud or deceive.  
• Recommend profiles to contact for recovery of stolen/lost goods, where we suspect the aim is defraud or deceive.

These types of comments will be deleted and removed promptly from our accounts.

Users can also be blocked if they send messages, post comments/replies, or act in a way that is:

• Grossly alarming, acutely distressing or cause public outrage.
• Make serious and false allegations or allege fictitious circumstances.
• Contain discriminatory language.
• Contain unsolicited indecent material. 
• Are persistent, creating volumes of contact that could cause service disruption.

Comments or messages of the nature above will see the User and their activity submitted for review to the Quality and Customer Services team. While a review is underway, public comments will be hidden.

If comments or activities are causing acute and real-time distress or outrage, the User will be blocked prior to a review by the Quality and Customer Services team.

The Quality and Customer Services team will establish a decision and supporting rationale. This will be documented and submitted to an officer with the rank of Inspector or above for authority to block. If authority is granted, the User will be blocked.

The decision to block a User is reviewed every 12 months. Blocking a User from our social media accounts does not affect their ability to contact us through other means e.g. 999/101, or via our website.

Sussex Police is not affiliated with any community-run social media accounts including any crime-related Facebook Groups or Pages. These accounts are administrated by members of the public who have access to the same public-facing information as any other member of the community. Our content can be shared to those accounts, as can the content from any other sources. The account administrators are responsible for the moderation of comments, application of their own community management standards and ensuring safeguarding, appropriate privacy and any legal reporting restrictions are not breached. 

Any comments that breach our Community Management guidelines (see above) or that of the social networks can be highlighted to us for review. If we uphold your concerns, and the platform permits us a moderation control, we will hide, remove, or report comments.  

Equally, every social media network has its own dedicated reporting processes that allows anyone to report comments, posts, or accounts. We have provided links to these below: 

• Facebook 

• Instagram 

• LinkedIn 

• X (formally Twitter) 

• YouTube

It is routine practice for the force to publish its social media content with comments enabled unless there is a substantive risk of prejudicing active criminal proceedings, the volume of comments becomes so great that it puts other social media service users at risk.

Leaving comments enabled supports the principles of open and transparent justice and provides us the opportunity to engage with our community, providing facts and managing misinformation, which we would not be able to do otherwise. 

Leaving comments enabled is a decision that is continuously kept under review. Our social media accounts are moderated 24-hours a day to allow for comments to be reviewed according to our Community Management guidelines (see above) and Terms and Conditions of the platforms. 

Your feedback helps to shape Sussex Police. If you’d like to say thanks or make a complaint we’d like to hear from you.