Give a kid Pepsi for breakfast once and see what happens.

What does that have to do with police-media relations? In the simplest sense, it’s about expectations and consistency – two things most parents work on constantly with their offspring. Teach them what’s expected behavior and be consistent in whatever message you’re trying to get across: “Breakfast is an important meal, so Pepsi probably isn’t the best choice for a healthy start to your day.”

But, let that kid have Pepsi just once with their bowl of cereal and you know what happens from there – “Why can’t I have Pepsi? You let me do it before?”

Cops aren’t parents to reporters, who themselves aren’t kids. However, when police departments break routine with the media, it opens doors that can become hard to close in the future – just like the kid who won’t ever let you forget about that one breakfast Pepsi.

Take for instance one department’s recent decision to issue a press release about a public figure’s non-violent misdemeanor arrest that included a reference to a previous, unrelated arrest. I knew this person had come under local scrutiny because of the incidents, but it still jumped out at me that the department deviated from its usual stance of not discussing criminal history.

There are two standards for police when it comes to talking about arrests. Press releases always remind the public that someone charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. That’s boilerplate.

Another common thing is not delving into an arrestee’s past because, one, it doesn’t relate to the current charge and, two, departments almost always err on the side of caution when it comes to saying too much about someone involved in a pending case.

As we all know, it doesn’t take much to find out if someone has ever been in trouble before. Court records are online in most counties. And, an old-school trip to the clerk’s office can provide plenty of color for stories that most cops aren’t going to hand over with any regularity.

That said, this isn’t about police withholding information that is readily available, it’s about police being consistent in their approach with the media.

I checked in with the department’s PIO to find out if, based on this instance with the public figure’s arrest, reporters could now expect to see criminal background information doled out in future press releases.

While being told it was a fair question, the PIO explained the reason for doing so in this limited instance was because of its relevance to the person’s public role. You can email me to find out whether I buy that reasoning.

Part of being a reporter is knowing what questions you have to ask that won’t ever get answered. It’s just how the game is played. Reporters might not like it, but they can accept the consistency of certain types of denial.

When a department breaks from its usual approach, it should elicit questions from reporters and PIOs should be prepared to explain why. How you do that depends on department policy and leadership, but there are a few general ways to frame a departure from usual media practices in a couple of common situations:

Wanted Subject:

• Rule: Departments discourage the media from reporting on charges before the suspect is arrested because of concerns the person will flee if they know they’re wanted.
• Exception: Police enlist the media’s help to alert public in effort to track down wanted suspect.
• Explaining the change: Emphasize public safety or general well being as reasons the department wants the suspect stopped before committing another crime. Mention the important role citizens can play by providing information, especially when reward money is involved. Promote tip lines, such as Crime Stoppers.

Criminal Background:

• Rule: Departments decline to comment because of a pending case and a desire to not interfere with the work of prosecutors, or simply because past charges aren’t related to new charges.
• Exception: Providing context in major or high-profile incidents; other individual factors which are sometimes left unexplained.
• Explain the change: Describe how an event’s magnitude requires a greater level of detail to be released, especially when the demand for information is higher. In situations unique to your community, offer some reasoning that indicates a law enforcement purpose for discussing criminal history – frequent calls for service, habitual offender, etc.

Person of Interest:

• Rule: Departments use the phrase to avoid labeling someone who is in custody during the investigative phase.
• Exception: Department refers to person as a suspect to alleviate public safety concerns.
• Explain the change: Define how your department differentiates between a person of interest and a suspect, whether procedural or based on specifics of an incident. Explain who you wouldn’t describe as a person of interest.

The theme for these exceptions is the public’s best interest. Reporters believe everything you do is in that respect, which is why they perk up when even the smallest change of routine occurs.

Remember, if you make an exception once, expectations will change and you’ll forever be reminded about that one time you served Pepsi at breakfast.

 

Dan Campana is a Chicago-area freelance writer and communications consultant. Send questions and comments to dan@dancamcom.biz.

The wind knocked over flower pots and made it difficult to have a conversation, but it didn’t overpower the message presented on a blustery afternoon at the Naperville Public Safety Plaza: The community supports its first responders.

Naperville CAPS – Citizens Appreciate Public Safety – took to the plaza in September to launch a commemorative brick program through which residents could pay further tribute to the law enforcement officers and firefighters who make a difference. Purchasing a brick donates money to CAPS and its multi-faceted approach for recognizing and further backing the men and women in the police and fire departments.

That mission, while always important, has taken on a greater meaning during the recent tumultuous period facing law enforcement officers around the country.

“We get that it’s a stressful job. In the press, you hear so much negativity about public service, especially police officers,” CAPS Board President John Knobloch said. “In this day and age, there’s a lot of good that doesn’t get recognized.”

Across the suburbs, community-based organizations with ties to police departments have seemingly always existed in one form or another. Citizen police academies are among the most common ways residents have shown an above-average interest in law enforcement, but Community Emergency Response Team programs and academy alumni groups have developed into another key link to recognize and, at times, offer financial backing.

Members of these groups also have developed into community ambassadors.

“By just taking the (citizen’s police academy) class, you’re challenging yourself to think differently about police,” said Marcia Basciano, president of the Elmhurst Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association. “We’re the eyes and the ears in the community because of this program.”

But, they’re also another voice about police. Basciano points out how alums take their new and growing understanding of law enforcement to their neighbors and friends around the community. The alumni association also meets regularly to stay in tune with Elmhurst Police and has a presence at promotion and other ceremonies. In addition, the group lends practical support by volunteering to do traffic control, among other tasks, at community events and offers financial donations out of their own pockets to contribute toward equipment and continuing education costs, Basciano explained.

“I think it’s more important that we do it now,” she said of being public advocates of law enforcement.

The connection has been similar in Aurora, where Dave Bohman of the CPA alumni group said, “The alumni organization has a strong relationship with the department and helps through volunteerism and by procuring off-budget equipment as needed. The organization also provides continuing police-related education to its members.”

In North Aurora, a growing connection to the community has risen out of its Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, according to Deputy Chief Scott Buziecki. The department began offering CERT training about 18 months ago to develop a volunteer base to assist in times of disaster. Three sessions later, North Aurora has 48 trained citizens, including 14 current volunteers, who are a “force multiplier” aiding the department’s efforts at community events and, as in Elmhurst, have become liaisons to inform other residents about what the police are really all about.

“There are people in the community who are looking to help,” Buziecki said. “We love interacting with these people and getting to know them outside of regular police work. It’s nice to know people in the neighborhood who know and support us. People are reminding us that they see us and are on our side. It’s reassuring.”

Over Buziecki’s 19 years, he’s seen a growing interaction with residents by the department, and enthusiasm on both sides of the partnership. Officers enjoy teaching the training classes and being part of various neighborhood meetings. Residents “really love” the chance to be involved with even routine police activity, such as handling traffic at the village’s summer festival. Trained volunteers, who must apply and go through a background check, are issued shirts and baseball-style hats that identify them when on the job, Buziecki explained, adding that they are treated with the same respect of paid department employees.

“It’s kind of exciting to them,” he added.

For officers in Naperville, the appreciation from citizens doesn’t go unnoticed, Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall offered. While the department constantly talks about the increased pressures of the job, there is a boost from knowing a grassroots community group is around to highlight the good police do for residents.

“It was just a core group of citizens who wanted to recognize police,” Marshall noted.

CAPS, which was formed by residents around 1994, focuses on doing just that. Board member Terry Klein marveled at the number of letters submitted to CAPS to point out a good job done by officers, acts that might go unnoticed because of modesty or a just-doing-my-job mentality.

“They are too humble to acknowledge it,” CAPS Board Member Rod Davidson said. “They won’t even tell their families.”

That’s among the reasons Naperville CAPS hosts an annual awards dinner for officers each spring – there’s also an event for firefighters in the fall – who “have performed exemplary acts of public service in the community” that goes above and beyond to show “a genuine concern for the welfare and well-being of all Naperville citizens,” according to the CAPS website.

“There are many more positives going on than what you hear about,” Marshall said.

The new brick program is an extension of the recognition. The purchase of a commemorative, customized brick not only pays tribute to a public safety professional, but helps raise money CAPS then uses in support of the police and fire departments.

“If we fill up all the bricks, that’s a good problem,” board member David Wentz said with a smile.

 

Dan Campana is a Chicago-area freelance writer and communications consultant. Send questions or comments to dan@dancamcom.biz.

Does negative really sell?

By Dan Campana

You don’t write tickets to meet quotas. Reporters don’t write stories to sell papers.

In nearly 10 years working for daily newspapers, I got the same modest paycheck, no matter what our circulation numbers were, how many times crime news made the front page or how negative readers perceived our coverage to be.

What people think is quite the opposite. My finances would be in a much better place if I had a nickel for every time someone told me a certain story was in the paper or on TV because it sells ads, moves copies, raises ratings, etc. etc. etc.

Law enforcement, in general, dings the media by suggesting it’s only interested in portraying what’s wrong with the world. Law enforcement officers get even more irritated when what’s wrong involves one of their own in the media spotlight. By default, the media is often accused of reporting things in order to make a buck.

That’s a quick and convenient retort, but is it reality or simply a defensive response by police types and supporters who are protective of their own? My time in newsrooms tells me the idea of “bad news” equaling sales is a red herring. Declining newspaper circulations and ad revenue during the past decade would seem to support the thought.

To explore this further, I turned to a couple of former suburban newspaper executives since local print media is what departments deal with most often.

Their short answer to all this is that murder and mayhem on the front page frequently generated complaints from business owners and public officials. If it was bad for business and it was bad for advertising, one of the former execs said.

Do splashy headlines and perceived “bad news” boost sales? The pair said single-copy newspaper sales and web traffic would probably increase surrounding a particular event, but it’s harder to say whether overall circulation – the number of papers distributed per day – actually increases because of such coverage.

There’s also the question of what’s actually news. It’s in the eye of the beholder, just as the perception of bias can be. The journalist’s definition of newsworthy is undoubtedly different than what the average person thinks. One exec pointed out that violent crime in the suburbs is still viewed as unique. That, in turn, makes it more of story than perpetually low crime rates in communities considered safe – even if that’s some of the “good news” police clamor for.

Barry Petchesky, writing for Deadspin’s less sports-driven website called Concourse, recently put it on news consumers for what media outlets choose to cover. He, like the newspaper execs, sees how the public says it wants more good news, but continues to flock to wall-to-wall tragedy coverage commonly associated with the 24-7 cycle of cable news. A point well-taken, though, remember, cable news is an orange to local newspaper’s apple.

Much like police officers, local reporters are tied to the towns they serve – sometimes as residents, but, in the very least, as people who invest a lot of time to understand their coverage area and report meaningful stories.

They don’t create the news. They don’t crave negativity or to make someone have a bad day. They follow a job description created years ago which doesn’t reward them for covering certain types of stories more than others. They don’t do it out of bias or to increase ad revenue – which shrunk as classified ads have all but disappeared from print because of Craigslist and the like.

Cops and reporters share a similar unpopularity because of what they are asked to do. Traffic tickets are the most common interaction the public might have with law enforcement. Some feel singled out and lob clichéd accusations about what motivates an officer to write a ticket.

Are you making that stop to raise revenue? Of course not. That doesn’t stop you from having to hear such complaints.

The truth is our respective professions are misunderstood because of how easily some want to misjudge the work we do without ever trying to find out. Not saying our jobs are anywhere close to being the same; just that there is some common ground among us to help get past misconceptions about what motivates the media.

If nothing else, consider this an invitation to ask the media in your community what is news and what makes a good story. The answers might surprise you.