The strongest reaction to last week's North Raleigh News was to a little item in the back of the section in the Police Report -- a burglary in which thousands of dollars worth of jewelry were stolen.

A caller accused us of being "sensational" by including the value of the stolen jewelry. He speculated that other burglars might assume every house on the block has valuable items inside.

Putting aside whether that's how burglars think (and I'd be surprised), the request seems reasonable. But there are principles at stake that make the answer more difficult than it may seem.

The News & Observer is sometimes asked not to publish details about crimes, or we get complaints about what we do publish. Usually, the requester or complainer is the victim or the victim's friend, relative or neighbor.

Our tendency, though, is to put information in the paper unless there is a good reason to keep it out. For some information, there is a good reason. Note, for instance, that we didn't include the address of the burglary -- another burglar might well assume there is more jewelry in that particular house.

But I believe our readers should know as much as they can about crime. I know I would like to know as much as possible about crimes near my home.

I'm uncomfortable withholding details from the public, especially when it's from easily obtainable public records.

Did we need to include the value of the jewelry? I suspect opinions on that differ. But I doubt we put anybody in danger, so I can't say I regret printing it -- and who knows that that information won't help some family protect themselves from theft?

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.