AG: Police must balance rights in handling victim information

HELENA - Montana law enforcement agencies can neither release nor withhold information about some crime victims without first determining if the public's right to know or the victim's right to privacy is more important, Attorney General Mike McGrath said Thursday.

In the formal opinion, McGrath said that balancing test should be done whenever a victim requests that information such as address, phone number or employer be kept secret, or when the public wants to know a victim's name or a crime scene location that could be linked to a victim.

State laws requiring confidentiality of some victim i...