I never thought I'd be taking the trip downtown but good thing it was via my own motorcycle. Today I had the opportunity (like every other student who takes this class) to meet with J.D. Callaway, Director of Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's Community Affairs Office (that is a LONG title!), and Cristal Bermudez Nuñez from the HCSO Community Affairs Office. I was pleased to hear them talk about the do's and don'ts of reporter-police relationships involving what information can and cannot be released, what parts of the scene a reporter can and cannot be on, and the proper way of obtaining archives.
There are all kinds of obvious investigative information that can be released such as the location, date, time, type of incident and all that jazz. The one type of information that could be released that stood out to me was the "amount and type of property taken, including value when known or estimated to the nearest hundred dollars. (Exception: monies taken in a robbery or embezzlement.)" I agree with that because they can release the amount of what something other than money is worth but not the amount of cash taken. I can imagine the news showing a story about a robber taking $1 million in cash from a bank, then a crook sees it on TV, finds the robber and takes the money and then it disappears because the crook spent it all as if it was his while the cops are busy with the original robber. Also, if the robber robs $1 million worth of necklaces from a jewelry store, the necklaces are easier to recover because everyone will know an expensive necklace when they see it. Also, if the money gets recovered, other crooks will know how much that establishment is holding, which could make it a hot spot for future robberies.
When it comes to crime scenes, how close can the reporter really get? I've always been curious about that if I ever got to be a TV reporter, what do I do when I'm covering a crime scene? One thing I learned was that in "hostage or barricade situations, the deputy in charge shall designate a preliminary press perimeter upon arrival at the scene." I did not know that! How fascinating and how privileged a reporter is to the police! I always thought there was a slight animosity between the press and the police but maybe the police do that because it makes their job easier when they don't have to deal with us nosy reporters.
While touring the station, I passed by the public records office. That's where the public goes to the station to get records. One thing that confused me was if it's public record, why the hell isn't it online already? Some people are still bound to hard copies, and they have a reason to be. The procedure HCSO follows said something that stood out to me: "Any member who does not know the facts shall assist by referring the inquiry to the proper authority providing the name and telephone number of the individual to be contacted, if necessary. Vague referrals such as "the sergeant," "detectives," "Sheriff's Office," or "P.I.O.," shall be avoided." I thought that was a good bit of information at the end of that where the vague referrals shall be avoided. Even though it's pretty obvious who the sergeant is sometimes, not everyone knows who the sergeant is or how to contact the sergeant.
Well, that was the most interesting stuff that I remember about the visit. We did get to see the 911 call center, that was cool, a job I'd probably like to do, but at the same time, is that what I really want to do? I wanna be famous and have people listen to my problems, not listen to other people's problems.
(All quotes came from the HCSO's Standard Operating Procedure when dealing with media.)
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