PROTECTING CRIMINALS IN THE NAME OF PRIVACY

Police Chief Drew Akings of Great Bend, Kan., hit a brick wall of silence when he tried to check on two murder suspects wounded in a shootout last May. Hospital officials refused even to say when the men would be discharged. "We worried these criminals might slip away, but protecting their privacy was more important to the hospital," he said. "It ultimately worked out, but it was very frustrating — and dangerous."