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Imagine you are the law enforcement scene commander at a conveniencestore robbery, where the robbers have taken the customers and clerkhostage.A local television station is broadcasting the event live through a telephotolens, and the robbers are watching the coverage on a television inside the

store. What actions should you take?

Controlling the movement at the crime scene and limiting the number of peopleclear to enter the crime scene is essential to maintaining scene integrity,safeguarding evidence, and minimizing contamination as well as reduce risk ofthe new victims in area. As a scene commander I would follow StandardOperating rocedures established by the law enforcement agency I!mrepresenting and will take control from the initial responding officer.

One of the first steps the scene commander need to take is to define and controlboundaries that will provide a means for protecting and securing the crime scene.

In our particular situation where we have the crime in progress within theconvenience store, where the robbers have taken the customers and clerkhostage. "nder assumptions that robbers are armed and based on the fact thatthe ma#imum range of the $% &erretta is '()) m we can establish sceneboundaries far enough in order to protect civilian population. Obviously, forestablishing controlling boundaries we need to take in consideration ourcapability to control access to the restricted area, and troop element sizedispatched for control access to the restricted area will be limited factor.

*stablishing the boundaries of the scene will allow to control and limit to thepublic e#posure any tactical moves, as well as served as an effect measures to

preserve and protect evidence that may be lost or compromised.

"pon establishing crime scene boundaries, the scene commander would have tohave to prepare initial statement for the public. At the same time information wasbroadcasted on as event on live television, and the robbers are watching thecoverage on a + inside the store would force a limited information for the publicdisclosure. In mostly cases live coverage agreements between law enforcementagencies will establish voluntary guidelines for the broadcast of live pictures orinformation emanating from crime scenes and ongoing crises such as hostagesituations.

-or many people, the live mass media reports on + are the window/ on theworld. Stories of assaults and kidnappings blasted across headlines andincreasing pubic attention to the broadcast and increasing rating of the channelsbased on that reporters will use any opportunity to get live picture from the livecrime scene.

+he censorship of the mass media in time of crisis was issue betweengovernment officials and 0ournalists for long time. 12hite, p. ')34 One of the

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ma0or legal bases allows mass media to cover government activities is the-reedom of Information Act.

*nacted on 5uly 6, '%77, and taking effect one year later, the -reedom ofInformation Act 1-OIA4 provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court,

to obtain access to federal agency records, e#cept to the e#tent that suchrecords 1or portions of them4 are protected from public disclosure by one of ninee#emptions or by one of three special law enforcement record e#clusions/.1http899www.foia.gov9about.html4  &ut in the same time according to the:epartment of the 5ustice ;uide to the -reedom of Information Act if a privacyinterest is found to e#ist, the public interest in disclosure, if any, must be weighedagainst the privacy interest in nondisclosure. If no public interest e#ists, theinformation should be protected< as the :.C. Circuit has observed, =something,even a modest privacy interest, outweighs nothing every time./ If there is a publicinterest in disclosure that outweighs the privacy interest, the information shouldbe disclosed< if the opposite is found to be the case, the information should be

withheld/.1:epartment of 5ustice ;uide to the -reedom of Information Act, p.6'%4

Other e#ceptions established by the :epartment of the 5ustice ;uide to the-reedom of Information Act regarding federal employees are involved in lawenforcement, as well as military personnel and Internal >evenue Serviceemployees stated that by virtue of the nature of their work, protectable privacyinterests in their identities and work addresses. In light of this privacy interest, the:epartment of :efense now regularly withholds personally identifying informationabout all military and civilian employees with respect to whom disclosure would=raise security or privacy concerns.= -or law enforcement personnel in particular,

these privacy interests are generally protected under *#emption ?1C4/.1:epartment of 5ustice ;uide to the -reedom of Information Act, p.6@@6@64+hese two e#ceptions possible could be a legal basis for the limitation of thebroadcast from the crime scene, however if we recall live coverage of :zhokhar+sarnaev search + was broadcasting live actual police work and any tacticalmove even those coverage provided advantage to the terrorist and could informand alarm him.

+he scene commander can use live television coverage to an advantage even

without the cooperation of the station. :uring the briefing and announcement of

the initial statement to the public as well as with follow up updates scene

commander may solicit media personnel regarding a =public reBuest forassistance= on behalf of the law enforcement department. +he information could

be announce8 the character or nature of the assistance or information being

sought< point of contacts with the name of the person or department and their

phone numbers< promise of granting of anonymity, upon reBuest, to the person

providing the assistance or information< any monetary rewards for information or

assistance that results in situation resolution or provided advance knowledge of

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the criminals.

+he media is similar to the loaded gun lying on the street< the first person to pickup got to choose how to use it. 12hite p.%)4 +errorists recognise the power ofthe media and often try to use it in their advantage in order to get public attention

and limit law enforcement options. In case of the terrorist demands to speakupfront the camera you can start negotiating options in order to use any delays inyour advantage. Other tactical advantage to sent camera in the conveniencestore is to get better intel regarding hostages and robbers, their number andlocations inside the building. owever in my opinion sending + crew inside thebuilding in order to negotiate the hostage situation in the media is not the bestoption because it simply could increase numbers of hostages, and give an optionto the robbers have e#tra leverage over the law enforcement in the public eye.