kidnappings, etc.

Am I not understanding something or is it pure idioticy for the police to show the face and full name of a kid or person, who was kidnapped and got away?
The kid in Florida who was tied to a tree and then escaped and called home, was put onto TV for hours by the police. We were told his name (address in the phone book) and bragged upon to the world about how he got away, and, how he "described" the kidnapper.
It would seem to me that if another potential kidnapper saw that, he would immediately decide to make sure anyone he kidnapped would NOT be able to identify him later!
I just think the cops in these cases want the publicity generated by these kidnapped people in person! What other benefit is there? If they don't stop, we should change the rules so they can't do that.