What to print and what not to print? That was the question on many editors' lips when the new Police Act was passed by parliament last month.
The Bill caught many of the media by surprise probably because it is such a mammoth piece of legislation and the sections of the act pertaining to what can and cannot be printed was overlooked. The clauses pertaining to this is contained mainly in Section 69 of the Bill, which replaces Section 27 of the old Police Act.
Essentially, the new legislation bans newspapers from publishing a photo of a suspect who is fleeing, or anybody in custody who is being tried, or anyone in custody involved in a criminal proceeding. Photos of these people can only be printed with the written consent of the national or provincial police commissioner. Contravention of this clause (Section 3) can result in imprisonment or a fine.
Ironically, Section 2a of the Bill allows photographers to take photos of anybody in custody, unless a policeman expressly forbids them to do so.
According to the old legislation, newspapers were only banned from publishing photos of people who had escaped from police custody and people who had not been brought to trial. There are fears that the new legislation can lead to an anomalous situation where a newspaper is held liable for publishing a picture of a fleeing suspect without being aware of having transgressed the law at all.
Subsequent to the concerns raised in the press about the legislation, Mr Azhar Cachalia, who was the chairman of the team that drafted the legislation, invited editors opposed to the legislation to make last-minute submissions that may see the Act amended.