New Castle City Police Chief Rick McCabe is the president of the Delaware Association of Chiefs of Police.
When it comes to public safety, protecting individual rights and maintaining public trust are not competing priorities. They are responsibilities that law enforcement must balance every day.
That is why the debate surrounding House Bill 59 deserves more than a disagreement over whether police should release the names and photos of people charged with crimes. The larger question is whether Delaware is developing public safety policies that are clear, consistent, accountable and informed by the professionals responsible for implementing them. Unfortunately, HB 59 falls short.
Let me be clear: An arrest is not a conviction, and publicly identifying someone accused of a crime can have significant consequences. These are legitimate concerns deserving thoughtful consideration. But acknowledging those concerns does not mean we should accept legislation that creates new issues without adequately addressing how it will work in practice.
Under HB 59, law enforcement agencies are prohibited from releasing the name or photo of an adult charged with a crime, unless that individual is charged with a felony, and disclosure is necessary to protect public safety. The problem is that the law does not define what makes disclosure necessary to protect public safety.
Consider a situation in which someone is arrested, and investigators believe there may be additional victims. Does identifying that individual serve a public safety purpose by encouraging others to come forward? What if releasing a name could help witnesses provide critical information? Who determines whether those circumstances meet the law’s requirements?
These are practical questions that law enforcement agencies must now answer, potentially in very different ways, without clear guidance.
When a law leaves that much room for interpretation, inconsistent application becomes almost inevitable. That serves neither the public nor the people whose information the law seeks to protect.
What makes this particularly frustrating is that Delaware already has a framework designed to address exactly these kinds of issues.
The Delaware Police Accreditation Commission establishes professional standards for law enforcement agencies and provides a process for ensuring that those standards are followed. With Delaware police agencies required to achieve accreditation by 2028, we have an established means of creating consistency and accountability across our profession.
We have seen the value of this approach in recent discussions surrounding automated license plate readers, where questions about privacy, appropriate use and oversight were addressed through the state’s existing standards-setting process.
The release of arrest information could have been approached in much the same way.
Through DPAC, Delaware could develop a consistent standard identifying when public disclosure is appropriate, what factors agencies must consider, who has authority to approve a release and how those decisions should be documented and reviewed.
Such a standard could protect individuals from unnecessary public release of information, while preserving law enforcement’s ability to seek information, identify additional victims and communicate with the public when circumstances warrant it. Importantly, it could also be reviewed and refined, as agencies gain experience implementing it. Instead, HB 59 imposes a statutory restriction without providing the operational clarity necessary to apply it consistently.
This speaks to a broader concern about how we approach public safety policymaking in Delaware.
Law enforcement leaders have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to engage in difficult conversations about accountability, transparency and professional standards. We have participated in reforms, worked with legislators and helped strengthen the very systems designed to hold our agencies accountable.
That does not mean we will agree with every proposal. Nor should disagreement automatically be interpreted as resistance to reform.
There is a difference between opposing accountability and questioning whether a particular policy will achieve its intended purpose.
Meaningful collaboration requires more than allowing stakeholders to voice concerns. It requires taking those concerns seriously, examining their practical implications and being willing to adjust an approach when legitimate problems are identified.
That is the kind of partnership Delaware’s residents should expect from both their elected officials and law enforcement leaders.
Our concerns about HB 59 are not rooted in a desire to avoid oversight. They are rooted in our responsibility to ensure that the policies governing our work are clear, effective and consistent with the public’s expectations.
The General Assembly should repeal HB 59 and work with law enforcement leaders and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive statewide standard through Delaware’s established accreditation process.
We can protect the rights of people accused of crimes, while preserving appropriate public access to information. And we can give police agencies clear, enforceable guidance that balances both responsibilities.
Delaware has already invested in building a framework for accountable, professional policing. We should use it.
The public deserves more than a well-intentioned law. It deserves a policy that works.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
