PLANS to look at granting people accused of some serious crimes anonymity before they are charged to prevent trial by media would face a number of hurdles, the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) has said.
Calum Steele, General Secretary of the SPF said that there would be "many things to consider". He was speaking after Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill told MSPs he would examine the proposal.
Although not government policy, maintaining the anonymity of those accused of some serious crimes has been raised by the Justice Committee amid concerns over the damage to potentially innocent people who are arrested but then released.
Mr Steele said he understood the benefits, but added that any review would take some time."
Social media made it difficult to prevent identification, he added.
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