The communique, dated May 23 and titled “Releasing Information to News Outlets Without Proper Authority”, warned that unauthorised distribution of information to journalists will be dealt with sternly. It stated that disciplinary actions, which could escalate to termination, will be imposed on anyone found engaging in such behaviour.

While police authorities frequently share specifics to help in resolving crimes or in capturing suspects, they argue that cases might be compromised if certain information becomes public prematurely.

But supporters of transparency argue that law enforcement and government officials often withhold data that ought to be publicly accessible. They say that it does not serve the public interest when officials selectively release information which only casts their departments in a favourable light.