Police mugshots: Victims call on PSNI to show killers' faces

Barry McManus, a father-of-two, was killed by a drunk driver

Families whose loved ones were killed by drunk drivers have questioned why police will not release photos of the offenders.

Unlike many police forces in the UK, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) does not routinely issue custody photos - known as mugshots - of people jailed for serious offences.

The victims of crime commissioner said the PSNI's approach was "inconsistent".

The PSNI said it acted in accordance with the law and policing policy.

Vladimar Kovac, from Carrowshee Park, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, was jailed in November after pleading guilty to causing the death of Barry McManus by dangerous driving.

The PSNI has declined to publish a custody photo of the 42-year-old, saying it served "no lawful policing purpose".

Mr McManus, who had just become a father for the second time, died at the scene of the crash.

It happened on Belfast Road, Brookeborough on 11 June 2022 - Mr McManus's wife's birthday.

A judge said Kovac's "selfish decision" to drive after drinking at least five shots of vodka had "ripped the heart out of a young family".

'Why is he being protected?'

Rachel McManus said police had been supportive towards her since her husband was killed, but she could not understand why Kovac's custody image was being withheld.

"I don't understand why police are so against releasing a picture of him," she told BBC News NI.

"I feel like at the end of the day, he hasn't only ruined my life, he has ruined my two kids' lives.

"There's people's lives affected by Barry's death and Vladimar comes out of prison and just walks free, whereas if there's a picture of him, people are aware of what he has done.

"I don't understand why he is being protected."

BBC News NI asked police services across the UK to outline their policies on releasing custody images of offenders.

Of the 38 that responded, 23 said they generally issued mugshots of offenders handed sentences above a certain threshold, with most setting this at a jail sentence of 12 months or more.

Among them was Bedfordshire Police, which was formerly led by the PSNI's newly-appointed chief constable Jon Boutcher.

Enda Dolan was a first-year architecture student at Queen's University when he was killed

Peter Dolan, whose 18-year-old son Enda was knocked down and killed in 2014 by a drunk driver, said police should release the custody images of killer drivers.

The PSNI issued a mugshot of David Lee Stewart of Gray's Park Avenue in the days after he was jailed in 2016, following public criticism from the Dolan family.

Mr Dolan, from Killyclogher in County Tyrone, said: "Whenever you stood back and thought about it in the cold light of day, you thought, 'Well this is not fair - why is his photograph not released? What is the position here? Why can it not be released?'

"Certainly they shouldn't have been waiting for the victim's family, and the public, to kick up a stir about that."

"They need to change their policy to ensure the photographs of the perpetrators are released and out there in the public domain."

Peter Dolan said police should release images of offenders such as the driver who killed his son

Geraldine Hanna, the commissioner designate for victims of crime in Northern Ireland, said the PSNI's policy should be clarified.

She acknowledged police must consider any potential "risks" but said the release of images appeared "inconsistent".

"For both victims and the wider public, there is an element of justice needing to be not only done but to be seen to be done," she said.

"So where we publish the images of serious offenders where there aren't any identified risks, I think that helps show the public that the justice process has worked and encourages others to report crime - and increases really our public confidence in our system."

"I think if victims are having different responses and that there's a perceived inconsistent approach being taken by the police, then it would be helpful to have greater clarity as to which circumstances an image will be released and under which circumstances it will not.

"And throughout always, the victim should be consulted and their views taken on board so that there's no surprises for them in this process."

Police issued David Lee Stewart's mugshot following criticism from the Dolan family

In a statement, a PSNI spokeswoman said: "The Police Service of Northern Ireland considers each request for disclosure of a custody image in accordance with legislation applicable in Northern Ireland, police service policy and ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) and data protection principles."

She said the PSNI "cannot comment on the approach by other UK police forces and in particular the application of legislation in England and Wales".