ABSTRACT
The use of journalistic information, particularly photographic and film material, in the investigation and prosecution of offences is a relatively new but increasingly important issue. Journalistic information enables police to bolster intelligence files and, in the form of film, provides a particularly powerful source of evidence. The scope for challenging an order to seize journalistic material is limited: the recipient of the order must challenge by way of judicial review, so only the legality and not the merits of the decision to grant the order is reviewable. However, journalistic material could be seized under warrant authorized by the Official Secrets Act 1911 as, indeed; it was in the infamous ‘Zircon affair’. There is a real need for the problems attendant upon the use of journalists’ material in the criminal process to be addressed. Journalists are not a resource of the criminal justice system yet are expected to take an increasingly active role in assisting the detection and prosecution of offenders.
