crime scene photos

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a bill called the "look, listen but don't copy law," which would allow public access to homicide photos and 911 tapes to review them but not necessarily to get copies of them, the Connecticut Post reports. Family members of crime victims could cite an unwarranted invasion on their public privacy to block release of the records, then putting the onus on the public to show that there actually is no invasion, the Post reports.

Connecticut is only one of nine states restricting the public disclosure of crime scene photos, Connecticut News Junkie reports on a survey conducted by the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research. Connecticut also is only one of 11 states restricting the public disclosure of 911 calls.

"Over the past few weeks the legislature’s research staff has been compiling reports for a task force convened by lawmakers to weigh the privacy of crime victims against the public’s right to know under the state’s Freedom of Information Act," Conneticut News Junkie reports. "The panel was created by a law that carved out new disclosure restrictions on the release of some law enforcement records pertaining to homicide victims and victims who are children" in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings.