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By JEFF R. COFFEY
Anindel Newspapers Staff Writer
The press.
The police.
The two long have been at odds oVer what “just the facts, ma’am” should mean.
The press has a mission to ferret out information to alert the public about crime, but sometimes they are perceived as going too far and along the way are blamed for endangering an innocent victim or witness.
• Law enforcement has a responsibility to ensure that facts are facts before they’re released, but sometimes cops are faulted for jeopardizing the very people they’re trying to protect by withholding information.
Bringing the two sides closer to a happy medium has been a tiresome, if not impossible, task.
But a panel of Virginia legislators and a group of media representatives are trying anyway.
Concerned that police statewide are abusing the law and shortchanging the public, the study committee has written legislation that would for the first time mandate sheriff departments to release basic information about crime in a timely manner.
The legislation, which would amend the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, would require police to provide the date, location and general description of a crime, in
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