I can tell you as a Detective having worked a ton of cases that the media covered. The guys and gals working the cases DO NOT feed the media our strategies, leads, and evidence. As some of you know, the Boston PD radio transmissions were available on the internet as unfortunately most are-including my agency. I heard the capture live and watched as FOX then jumped all over it as I'm sure they were listening too. Most frequencies aren't secure although they should be. I can recall several cases of mine where incorrect and potentially harmful information was "leaked" to the public. Where does it come from? A lot of times it's civilians who see us in a certain area doing certain things or guys on the fringe of the investigation who think it's "cool" to be the one to tip off the media. Most of the time it's a higher up who has never worked a case and want's to feel like he's important. Leaks hurt us and at times have gotten people killed. Brad S was right, CSI and shows of that sort have hurt us because ever JQ citizen now expects DNA on every case. Not reading miranda warnings is nothing new. Let's say you have a child kidnapped. Do we read miranda so he can contact a lawyer and weigh his options or do we question him and find the kid? At that point the prosecution can wait, we want the safety of the victim and public secured.
PS If I were to catch a person in my department providing information on one of my cases I would be taking them to the basement to loosen up a few molars.
