By publishing the results of their own investigations, the journalists often affect the investigations conducted by the law enforcement bodies. In the debate “Reaction of law enforcement bodies to journalistic investigations and strengthening of cooperation between the mass media and the law enforcement bodies in investigating cases of corruption”, the participants said the journalistic materials are also seen by the persons involved, who manage to hide evidence from the police, IPN reports.
Attending the event, Minister of the Interior Dorin Recean said the police are very attentive to what the press reports. “Especially in 2014, we are very attentive to everything that is related to corruption. We have an entire list of cases investigated by the police based on the findings of the media,” he stated.
Dorin Recean said he is grateful for the pressure exerted by the mass media on the law enforcement bodies by their materials. There are great shortcomings in the system that must be removed. Many of the employees of the Ministry are very efficient, but there are also persons who lack integrity. Thus, an employee can risk his life when arresting a criminal and then can take bribe from traffickers the next day.
Cristina Tarna, vice director of the National Anticorruption Center, said that when a journalistic investigation is published, it can be read also by persons involved, who start to hide evidence and to look for witnesses, hampering thus the official investigation. The journalists fear to help the law enforcement bodies to investigate the cases published by them.
Deputy head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office Adrian Popenco said that a higher number of cases are now investigated by prosecutors following press reports. “The journalistic investigations make us more disciplined,” he stated.
Head of the National Integrity Commission Anatolie Donciu said the dependence of the institution he heads on journalistic materials is very great. The Commission’s statistics show that about 70% of the launched investigations are based on media findings. On May 12-13 and on June 6, the Commission will hold seminars to strengthen the communication with the mass media.
The debate “Reaction of law enforcement bodies to journalistic investigations and strengthening of cooperation between the mass media and the law enforcement bodies in investigating cases of corruption” was staged by the Journalistic Investigations Center.