J4410 Covering Police Sept 17 2008

Covering Police

JOUR 4410 - Reporting of Public Affairs

Professor Neil Foote

University of North Texas

Sept. 17, 2009

Today’s class Writing style/tips First Amendment quiz

http://www.splc.org/falawtest/

Cop Reporting Classic Crime

Dragnet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz_OZVk_Es0 Hawai Five-0: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepyGm9Me6w Hill Street Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0H2TpuGT4 Law & Order: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS9oNBJEtNU

http://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/chapter01/chapter01_pg03.html

The “Bad News” Beat

Edna Buchanan, The Miami Herald Edna Buchanan wrote of the phenomenon in a

chapter of her memoir entitled "Nobody Loves a Police Reporter”:

"To be a police reporter is to be an unwelcome intruder. It can be lonesome and arduous. People blame you for the bad news. It's human nature: Somebody gets in trouble, you report it, and he turns on you like it's your fault, not his, that he is in this mess. The truth can get you in a lot of trouble.”


The “Bad News” Beat

Edna Buchanan, The Miami Herald "Police reporters deal with lives, reputations, and

careers. So you keep on – ask one more question, knock on one more door, make one last phone call, and then another. It could be the one that counts."


Crime Story Basics

Learn the personnel Who is your primary contact Who are the decision makers

Tour the facility Ride with/Shadow a cop Sit in on training Get a copy of the SOP (Standard Operating

Procedures) Agency’s rules on collecting evidence

Sample Police Department Org Chart

Crime Story Basics

Get to know the cops They’re human Write about the bad – and the good

Always go to the scene See it with your own eyes

Talk to everybody Don’t be shy Don’t assume cops, witnesses won’t talk

Source: Stephen Buckley: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=11804

Crime Story Basics

Look for trends, patterns Know your neighborhoods

That’s why ride-alongs are essential Read cop stories in other newspapers Get to know the clerks

Source: Stephen Buckley: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=52&aid=11804

Crime Story Basics

Find sources beyond the department Does your agency or jurisdiction have a

citizens review board, citizens training academy, auxiliary police unit, civilian patrol component or active police watchdog or advocacy group?

Getting the Story Knock on doors

Identify yourself Be respectful Be sincere Be prepared

Talk to victims Don’t badger Be prepared for a wave of emotions Have tissues ready Be emphatic, but don’t lose your focus

Crime Coverage Fresno Bee

http://data.fresnobeehive.com/crime/

Dallas Morning News http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/ca

pital-murder-trial-begins-in-1.html

The Advocate, Baton Rouge http://www.2theadvocate.com/blogs/crimeblog

Independent Blog: http://www.seattlecrimeblog.com/

Crime Story Basics – Key Terms

The Arrest The Booking The Arraignment


The Arrest “Probable cause”

The Miranda Warning "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you

say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before you answer any questions."


Be careful of arrest terms. Police do not "file" felony charges. Only

prosecutors can bring felony charges. Avoid writing that a suspect was arrested "for" a

crime. That implies guilt. Substitute "on suspicion of," "in connection with" or, in news shorthand, simply "in."

For example: "A Memphis man was arrested today on suspicion of robbery in Sunday's church holdup downtown."


BOOKING During booking, a police supervisor records in a registry (or

book) the suspect's identifiers and the charges he faces. Police remove and inventory the suspect's property. He is

photographed and fingerprinted (with a digital scanner, not ink).

Some jurisdictions take saliva swabs for a DNA test. This "pedigree," photo and fingerprints are shared via computer links with state and national crime information centers.

Drug and alcohol tests can be given during the booking process.



BAIL Bail can be "paid" with cash or with a bond and

collateral personal property, such as the financial equity in a house.

A bond firm, which acts as intermediary between the court and accused, typically requires a 10 percent fee that will not be returned, regardless of the outcome of the case.

Any cash bail paid will be returned minus an administrative fee once the accused meets the bail conditions – to appear in court and stay away from a victim, for example.



ARRAIGNMENT The suspect's first appearance before a judge, justice

or magistrate. The accused is informed of the formal charges. (Arraignments

likely will be covered by a court reporter, but crime reporters should understand the process.)

During the late 1980s, a legal mandate requiring arraignment within 72 hours of arrest became a national standard.

Judge can alter, grant or deny bail.


Crime Data

CrimeReports.com (http://crimereports.com)

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: http://www.rcfp.org/

The Crime Report: http://thecrimereport.org/

Department of Justice: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/


An assistant prosecutor normally handles arraignments, and a public defender acts on behalf of felony suspects who have not hired a lawyer. In rural courts that lack staff public defenders, the arraignment

judge will appoint a local lawyer to represent an indigent suspect who may face jail time if convicted.

(The appointment of a lawyer or public defender does not absolve the suspect of financial responsibility. If he is solvent, he may have to pay.)


When is a ‘crime’ a story?

Is the crime part of a trend or an aberration? (In either case, tell your readers or viewers.)

Why should people care about the story? Does it leave readers or viewers with a false

impression about crime or raise a safety issue that can be answered?

Do you have access to the sources you need to tell the story?

Source: http://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/chapter01/chapter01_pg05.html#crimebeatissues

Crime Story Basics - Writing

Never lead with date and time Unless it has a direct bearing on the story

Write in the active voice Attribute

police said/authorities said … is fine Review types of leads: Direct, Delayed, Summary, Announcement

Avoid cliches, code words “inner city”, “tragic death”, “untimely death”

Go beyond the “what happened”, but get to the “so what”

SOURCE: Al Tompkins: http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=65264

Crime Story Details

Crime suspects Any tattoos? Birth marks? Scars? Distinct clothing?

Mannerisms? Gestures? Figure of speech? Try to get as many specifics as possible:

• What’s better?• Police were looking for a 6-foot-2, 225 white man with buzz-cut blond

hair, an equine nose and thin chin hair. He was wearing Green Bay Packers jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers.

• OR• Police were looking for a Hispanic looking man with dark hair and a T-

shirt.

Crime Story Details

The “bloody” details Be sensitive to your readers – “the breakfast

table” rule? Will it offend? Are they necessary? Will reader learn anything?


Sexual Assault victims Most news organizations do not report the names of sexual

assault victims unless the victims are willing to be publicly identified.

Sexual assaults warrant careful consideration in the use of details. Be careful not to identify a victim with oblique details – for example, "a 31-year-old woman who lives in the 1900 block of South Oak Street.”

Family sexual assaults can be confounding since naming the perpetrator identifies the victims. Even when the name of the accused offender is withheld, the reporting of the ages of young victims can lead to identification.

Err on the side of caution.


Suspect descriptions Be as specific as possible Push your sources to give you complete

descriptions Avoid generalities, e.g. black male, bald, t-shirt and

jeans Any tattoos? Birth marks? Scars? Distinct clothing?

Mannerisms? Gestures? Figure of speech? "Police were looking for a 6-foot-2, 225-pound

white man with buzz-cut blond hair, an equine nose and thin chin hair. He was wearing a Green Bay Packers jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers."

Crime Stories - Ideas Spot crime story Crime trends Ride alongs Security in labs,

dorms on campus? Domestic violence Pedophiles Traffic accidents/

fatalities

New technology Gun violence Public school crime Drugs “Hot spot”

neighborhoods Juvenile crime Unusual crimes

Crime Stories

Edna Buchanan Fact sheets

Tell me the news Miami Shores North Miami Kenner, LA

Crime stories – Miami Shores

• MIAMI SHORES A burglar stole a check book, a credit

card, a Social Security card, a 27-inch television and two jars with $600 in coins after breaking into a residence in the 400 block of Northwest 111th Street between 12:30 and 4:45 p.m. Aug. 15.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/northeast/story/677842.html

Crime Brief – Purse Snatching

• NORTH MIAMI A robber snatched a woman's purse as she was

walking to her car in the 1300 block of Northwest 128th Street at 5:45 p.m. Aug. 28. The woman said as she was walking, she noticed a white car next to her car before feeling a man grab her purse. She then saw the man run into the white car, which had two other men, and sped away.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/northeast/story/677842.html

Crime Story – Kenner – 5 Year Old Shot

Kenner boy, 5, dies in shooting

Cops: He found mom's loaded gun in closet

Sunday, September 14, 2008 By Leslie Williams A 5-year-old boy died Saturday from an accidental shooting in Kenner, according to preliminary findings

of an investigation. The boy apparently found a loaded Taurus 9 mm handgun on the floor of a bedroom closet, said

Detective Shaun Watson of the Kenner Police Department. The boy was shot in the abdomen Friday night while his grandmother and great-grandmother were

moving boxes from a U-Haul truck into an apartment, Watson said. Police found the child in an upstairs bedroom bleeding from the wound. The mother, according to the preliminary investigation, was not in the apartment when the shooting

occurred. She arrived in time to ride with the child in an ambulance to a local hospital, said Watson, who was

among officers who arrived Friday about 10:45 p.m. at 2132 Idaho Ave., Apt. C. The apartment is about 4 1/2 blocks from the intersection of West Metairie Avenue and Williams

Boulevard. The boy died Saturday about 12:40 p.m., Watson said.

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-155/122137153268930.xml&coll=1

Education

J4410 Covering Police Sept 17 2008