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Show EDITORIAL COMMENT: The people have a right to kn ow We can well understand the concern of law enforcement officials in Southeastern Utah over w hat they consider to be an "erosion of public confidence" in their activities following an Attorney Generals investigation into possible irregular law enforcement practices. That concern prompted them, in a meeting in Moab recently, to unanimously pass a resolution condemning "premature and excessive public announcements regarding investigations into law enforcement agencies and individuals..." and urging that such practices be discontinued in the best interest of the public. The resolution, we feel, is lll-concelved and unfortunate, and not In the best Interests of the public, even though the origin of the resolution Is understandable In light of the statewide publicity the investigation has received. But to understand fully what it's all about, we must go back to the beginning and analyze the question in light of its full implications. Early this year a raid was conducted in Carbon County by certain legally-authorized law enforcement people, where arrests were made for violations of liquor and gambling laws. Publicity concerning that raid disclosed that there were definite problems of rapport between law enforcement agencies, and interviews published following the raid gave every indication that violations uncovered in that raid might well be only the tip of the iceberg. The people had every right to read the details of the Carbon County raid, and we cannot fault the new s coverage the raid created by responsible newspersons In Carbon County who were working under extremely difficult circumstances. The coverage has been criticized by some as being excessive, but from our corner it appeared to be good journalism. The people likewise have every right to know what is being done in Carbon County and elsewhere in Southeastern Utah subsequent to the raid. The fact that the Utah Attorney General's office was involved in an investigation was not only news, it was an important piece of information that the general public needed to know. Unfortunately, that investigation was altogether too time-consuming, and its results were minimal in light of all the publicity it received. As a sage once said, "The Lion roared and gave birth to a Mouse." But that fact does not provide justification for conducting all future Investigations under the cloak of absolute secrecy, as our local law enforcement people seem to want. One only has to be involved for a short while in one public agency policy making board (city council, school board, county commission, etc.) to become convinced that decision-making would be a w hole lot easier if it could be done behind closed doors under the veil of confidentiality. But that isn't the way things work in this country, and it's a good thing. The government's work is the peoples' business, and the people have a right to know what is going on. An investigation was conducted into alleged wrongdoing uncovered in a law enforcement raid. The people have every right to know that something is being done by some public agency, even though that knowledge might be considered by some to be "excessive public announcements." Even though we can understand the motivations which lead to the passage of the resolution on law enforcement, we can't agree it is in the best interests of the public. We don't feel that the publicity from the Attorney General's office has necessarily eroded public confidence in the law enforcement officials throughout the Southeastern Utah area. But most important, we can see only degeneration of public confidence in law enforcement, if all future investigations are conducted completely in secrecy. |