The

Peachtree City Police Department has recently updated its

standard operating procedure for dealing with the

distribution of information to the media, but the changes

are relatively minor, according to a department

spokesman.

Most of the

changes were simply rewording of various titles, said

Maj. Mike Dupree. The police department revised the SOP

on its own, with no input from city attorneys.

Georgia

open records laws have been made stricter during the past

year, but this was not a factor in this revision, Dupree

said.

The

document was previously revised every year, in compliance

with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement

Agencies, but that is no longer required. It was last

revised in late 1996 or early 1997, Dupree said.

The

department is in the process of updating its

certification with that body right now, Dupree said, and

will be for the next six months or so.

Procedures

such as this will continue to be fine-tuned as time goes

by, largely because the department is continually

growing, he said. As officers are added (there are

currently 53 sworn personnel), the command structure will

change as more captain and lieutenant positions are

added.

The chief

of police serves as the public information officer. That

title was formerly public information

"director," Dupree said, and that single word

was the biggest change in the latest revision.

In that

capacity, Chief Jim Murray is responsible for

disseminating information to the media unless he

designates a major, captain or lieutenant to do so in his

absence.

He also may

designate a spokesperson at a crime scene or incident

scene, but until then he is solely responsible for

communicating with the media, as well as the approval of

incident reports to be viewed by the media.

Guidelines

also are spelled out for the release of public

information. The department is particularly concerned

about details of ongoing investigations that could hamper

police efforts or unnecessarily embarrass or jeopardize

an innocent person, said Dupree.

General

information from an incident report such as the nature of

an incident (fire, car wreck, robbery, etc.), when and

where it took place, and the name of any adult charged

with a crime is typically available for release.

"The

Peachtree City Police Department realizes the need to

keep the public informed of newsworthy events. We also

realize that the media provides the best possible means

to communicate this information, provided they are doing

this responsibly, objectively, and without

prejudice," said Murray in a written statement.

"With

this in mind, we will encourage the establishment of a

cooperative relationship between the police department

and local media representatives, who employ such high

ethical standards. We will also promote an environment in

which media representatives can participate and/or obtain

information, as needed, on matters of public

interest."

Murray said

he has encouraged members of the media to contribute

whatever ideas or suggestions they may have that would

improve the department's policy for working with them.

The

department wants to work with the public to avoid

misinformation, Dupree said, adding that calls come in

frequently from people wanting to know about incidents

that simply never took place.