4B Crime : Court Reporting & Under 18s
In addition to the law [see Chapter 5B, Contempt and Reporting Legal Proceedings ], the Code contains rules relating to the coverage of sexual and other offences in the UK involving under 18s, as follows:
- Where legal restrictions apply prohibiting the identification of minors involved in legal proceedings, programmes must be careful not to publish any material that would directly or indirectly lead to any of those individuals being identified, whatever their involvement in the proceedings. Where no such legal restrictions apply e.g. in the majority of cases where minors are given anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), then, in common with other parts of the media, there is, correspondingly, no regulatory restriction and minors can be identified, subject to the following:
- When covering pre-trial investigations into alleged offences, even where no legal restrictions apply, broadcasters should have particular regard to the vulnerability of any minor involved before broadcasting his/her name, address, identity of any school or other educational establishment, place of work or any picture of them.