Changes to how police interact with the press are most welcome

HOW the police and the media work together - or not - might seem irrelevant to anyone not directly involved.

- PETE PHEASANT

But everyone is affected in some way by how these two interact, because crime and how it's dealt with is something the taxpaying public has a right to know about.

And the police need honest, accurate reporting of their actions if they are to have public trust.

So I was pleased to read about new guidance issued to police forces across the country by the College of Policing.

Police-press relations have gone downhill since the phone-hacking scandal and the arrest of nine cops over payment for stories.

Until recently, police officers had to record contact with journalists in the same way as dealings with criminals and members of extremist groups.

Reporters seeking information from the police these days will almost certainly be routed through a press office, where they might be met with a wall of silence or the barest of details - and then only if suits the police.