SSHA

Society of Sexual Health Advisers

Unite the union
  • About us
    • JOIN SSHA
    • Code of Professional Conduct
    • National Organising Professional Committee
    • National Organising Professional Committee Structure
    • Constitution and Rules
    • Council Reports
    • NPC ACCESS ONLY
  • News
  • Regions
    • London
    • North East, Yorkshire & Humberside
    • Ireland
    • Scotland
    • South West
    • East Midlands – VACANT
    • North West
    • South East
    • Wales
    • West Midlands
  • Resources
    • I Want To Be A Health Adviser
    • SSHA Manual
    • Conference Presentations
    • Competency Framework for Sexual Health Advisers
    • WeSSI: West Sussex Sexual Health Structured Interview
    • Research
    • Unite – Union
    • Publications
  • Jobs
    • Current Jobs
    • Sample Job Descriptions
  • Links
Home » Police staying quiet on identity of man putting Sussex lives at risk by intentionally spreading HIV

Police staying quiet on identity of man putting Sussex lives at risk by intentionally spreading HIV

February 29, 2016 By SSHA Leave a Comment

26 February 2016

SUSSEX Police have refused to name the individual they believe is responsible for intentionally infecting others with HIV – but insist they are doing everything they can to keep the public safe.

Sussex Police said they want to reassure people across the county that residents’ safety is their “priority” following allegations of a man putting his sexual partners intentionally at risk of HIV in Brighton.

They said they are working with partners in local sexual health services and Public Health England so that disclosures to potential victims are done in a sensitive way.

Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp, Brighton and Hove divisional commander, said: “We are being challenged by The Argus to name the individual as they believe it is in the public interest.

“I want to reassure the public that we are taking this investigation incredibly seriously. We are publicising absolutely everything we and our partners believe is in the public interest and are committed to supporting victims and potential victims.”

Dr Tom Scanlon, Director of Public Health, Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “I would strongly encourage anyone who thinks they may have had sexual contact with a man as described in the alert on our website to contact sexual health services for advice and support www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/hiv-alert

“There are issues of patient confidentiality, clinical sensitivity, as well as legal issues which are of great importance in terms of how we deal with this matter. I would urge colleagues in the media to bear this in mind when reporting this matter.”

Chief Supt Kemp said: “We have been tracing those who may have been affected in a number of ways, including looking at men the suspect has contacted online. Releasing the details to the media was an additional way to reach out to the wider community who may have been affected or have information to help us.

“The health and wellbeing of potential victims is the primary focus and releasing the suspect’s name is not in the public interest because in this case:

“It could lull some people, who have potentially been infected, into a false sense of security because of the risk of secondary infection.

“We believe the suspect may have used a variety of usernames when contacting people online so putting out his name may mean some people fail to identify the man who is allegedly been committing these offences.

“He has not been charged by us.

“When someone is accused of a crime we will interview them to gather evidence. It is then very common for them to be released on bail while investigations continue. It’s important we have the full facts and evidence to support any potential prosecution. We will name someone once they are charged by the Crown Prosecution Service.

“The media knows this which is why we are very disappointed that The Argus decided to name an individual in this case.

By doing this they have put our investigation at risk and have jeopardised the potential prosecution, where identity is a key issue. This is because in this case it is important that potential victims identify the suspect to the police without being influenced by what they have read in the media.

“We have three potential victims who are being supported by agencies while we continue to investigate.

“There is always a balance between protecting those who could have been at risk and bringing the person who has been committing an offence to justice – we always put the public first.”

Watch Chief Supt Nev Kemp talking about the HIV investigation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq03s8XoqBA

Filed Under: Media Watch Tagged With: brighton and hove, hiv, nev kemp, public health england, sussex police, tom scanlon

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About SSHA

The Society of Sexual Health Advisers (SSHA) is a UK national organisation with approximately 300 members out of an estimated 350 sexual health advisers in the country. It provides an opportunity for members to meet and work towards further professional development.

Recent Posts

  • Helping People to Reduce Sexual Health Risk: A Motivational Interviewing Approach February 28, 2023

Useful Links

  • BASHH
  • HPV Action
  • NAM
  • Public Health England
  • Public Health Scotland
  • Terence Higgins Trust
  • UNITE the Union

Copyright © 2023 · SSHA - Society of Sexual Health Advisers

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT