'Nicola Bulley's reputation 'destroyed' by police'

[MyrtIe]

Article here

The points made about victim blaming and the police disclosing this information to cover themselves are spot on imo.

The usual gutter press are having a field day with this today.

What exactly was the point of it? What's it achieved, apart from compounding the heartache of her loved ones?

YABU - the police were right to divulge this sensitive information as it was relevant to the investigation

YANBU - there was absolutely no need to do so

If she did have alcohol issues its very relevant

To those investigating, not us as the wider public. We do not need and should not have that information. What if she has had say some sort of a breakdown and been hiding out somewhere? The disclosure of such personal information could push her over the edge. Sadly I don't think she'll be found alive at this stage but we can't assume that. We don't know. Her private life is not people's entertainment, or it shouldn't be!

It is disgusting and horrendously sexist.

If its part of her vulnerability and the theory is the vulnerability caused her to have an accident or harm herself its completely relevant

No different to if it was reported someone has diabetes or dementia.

I think Mumsnet needs "i watched too much CSI" section which would be blocked from trending as well.
The grief vampires and Aghata NotsoChristies can gather there

Just to say, I've not followed this story closely and definitely haven't speculated as to what happened to Nicola anywhere. The headlines today jumped out at me however.

Hmm if she was feeling depressed then that might warrant a mention as her state of mind would be relevant. But to say she drinks due to menopause issues probably not needed. She looks lovely and I hope she’s ok and eagerly wait for good news

My feeling is that they could have spared all this by saying at the beginning she was a vulnerable missing person. It would have explained why their search was as it was and the disappearance wouldn't have caught the media's attention in the same way.

I don't see why they needed to go into such details, unless it was about to be released by the press, and they wanted to get in front of it.

Certainly agree that her mental health and alcoholism is relevant to the investigation, but I don't see the purpose of divulging this information to the general public.

@bellac11 exactly this.

Menopause can have a serious impact on MH, nothing sexist about it in the slightest ffs 🤦🏼‍♀️

Alcoholics can function very well. She could have downed a bottle of vodka for breakfast for all we know.

I agree with this. Sadly I think the police can't win here.

Her reputation will be different in every person's view. It's really how you and others choose to judge her on this information.

When after a day or two it was clear that the police had decided what happened I turned to my H and said, please don't stop looking for me if I go missing.
To me it reads that they are absolutely trying to stop the public discourse about the case and just accept the fact that she's a missing person and for the press coverage to die down.
They say there's no evidence she's been taken. Well there's no evidence she's fallen in the river. What evidence there is, is that where there was once a person, now there is not. To lean towards any hypothesis must be terrifying for the family.
I hope and pray she is found safe and well, whatever has happened.

At a time when women feel more vulnerable than ever about how they are treated by police they couldn't have made a bigger misstep than divulging private information basically to try and cover their own behinds. Even if the info was 'relevant' there are ways of saying she was known to the police without giving out specifics. They'll be blaming women going missing on having a funny turn or 'just their time of the month' next.

They discussed it with the family before revealing this. They agreed to it. It puts a whole different spin on the investigation. It seems more unlikely that she has been abducted.
The baying crowd need to go away and let police do their job.
This Faulding bloke is also coming across a highly unprofessional.
He was asked to join the search.
He found nothing so he should now go quietly away.

A woman has gone missing out of thin air and needs to be found. How is the amount she drinks relevant to that?

Yes. It's the speculators fault this has had to be made public. People have been undermining the police at every turn. Threads on mum'snet speculating have been part and parcel of this. People yammered and yammered for more information. Refused to believe the police had information that justified them thinking it was not foul play. Now they have been told they are blaming the police for that as well.

It's overt misogyny on the part of the police.

It's why they jumped to the conclusion she is in the water, yet no body has been found.

If she has disappeared of her own accord and is still alive it's absolutely abhorrent that her right to privacy has been invaded in this way.

Smacks of victim blaming and trying to avoid the fact that they jumped to conclusions that might be wrong.

Just awful.

I don’t necessarily sexist to consider it as an investigation but I don’t think it should have been released to the press, more as a consideration to her family and those that loved her. They must be feeling fresh hell today

It is horrible for this to be released now but how many hundreds of posters on MN have been happy to speculate that there’s something dodgy about her partner and they think he’s had something to do with it? If Nicola is never found he could face years of the same speculation. I hate that she’s now having her personal struggles splashed across the press and I don’t think the police have handled this particularly well but many of the general public have not covered themselves in glory either and have played their part in forcing this information out.

Yes, this. All the home Miss Marples going on and on and on have basically forced the police into sharing more information than they normally would. Don't scream they know nothing, then when they share more, scream they shouldn't have shared.

I am also sure they haven't shared everything.

Information could be relevant

Has she attended a local off licence recently? Or has someone turned up recently who the shop owner hasn't recognised until; this information has been put out

Her disappearance is getting quite desperate now - so the more eyes out looking for her the better - and the more information they have the better.

100% this.

These armchair and Tic Toc 'detectives' are actively hampering the police investigation and need to be shut down.

If she’s disappeared of her own accord it’s pretty abhorrent to sit back and watch so many resources go into finding you and for your family and friends watch the police dredge the river for your body!

This.

YANBU surely this should be confidential information