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.

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