Why the media screamed bloody hell!

Desmond Allen

LET ME see if I can help the Commissioner of Police to understand last week's rapid-fire media backlash to his very justifiable plan to pass crime statistics to the press in a more careful and complete package, against the piece-meal, one-one-coco-full-basket way it is being done now, usually through the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN).

First off, the thing was poorly handled, some might say bungled. Then the timing was even poorer. The whole thing smacked of a news blackout on crime right in the midst of an upsurge. With no prior warning and discussion with the media, the deal was dead in the water. It appeared to have suppression of public information written all over it. The media was bound to scream bloody hell!

I genuinely believe that journalists know deep down that the Commissioner has a point in wanting to be more careful in handling crime statistics. After all, statistics are nothing if they are not contextualised, analysed and periodically revised, so as to show trends and patterns that can then be used productively to solve problems. The Commissioner is clearly a thinking man. The mistake he made was not to call in his communications advisor, assuming he has one, to discuss how to ensure that he was not misunderstood in his intentions.

But the issue gives me the perfect excuse I was looking to 'cuss' journalists for the narrow way in which we have been using police information. We seem to have this huge appetite for adding up murders and stitching the pieces together to frighten the hell out of our public. Surely we have to go further than this.

We have to start looking more deeply at the information, to determine what it is saying to us. For example, can we extrapolate from the statistics trends and patterns about how effectively we are using our police force; why the crime rates rise and fall at special periods; how the public co-operates with the police to fight crime; what is a tolerable level of crime and the like? For some reason, we don't seem to have the stomach for that kind of analytical work.

The truth is that, in whatever he does, the Police Commissioner must in no way, shape or form hide information from the public. The police force is a public institution and the information it generates, with little exception, rightly belongs to the public. But the Commissioner would not be wrong in demanding that the media uses the information provided by the police in a more responsible, productive and professional way.

Seen and heard

I hope you called your colleagues to tell them well done for some really nice pieces which were published recently: Andrew Clunis' take on "Bob Marley Lives" in The Gleaner, May 11, page C1 was all that; Leonardo Blair wrote his heart out in the piece "The Gardens of Parliament" in The Star, June 11, page 4; Pat Roxborough was scintillating in her "Disastrous deluge in the west", The Gleaner, June 12, page C9; and Glen McFarlane made much sense in his "A contradictory process", Portmore/Spanish Town Herald, May 13-19, page 12E.

And if you missed the Monday, June 11 edition of Flair magazine, you have only yourself to blame.

"This is classic JLP politics, said a delegate who did not wish to be identified with this story." - The Gleaner "JLP stand-off in East Portland", May 7, page 2. If the delegate did not wish to be identified with the story, he would not have given his comment to the reporter. It is far more likely that he did not wish to be identified in the story!

The price of Nissan has gone up powerfully, according to the Sunday Observer Classifieds, May 6, page 31: "2001 Nissan frontier double cab, D/Dune, 4 doors, 3.3V6 air condition, power steering, power mirrors, power windows with CD. Price: $19,000,000.00". Not satisfied, they ran the ad twice. Then, on the same page, "1996 Nissan Terrano (pathfinder), green 2.7 diesel, air condition, power mirrors, power steering, automatic with power windows. Price: $16,000,000.00". Again, the ad was run twice. You know I'll never be able to afford a Nissan!

Western Mirror story "Woman claims cop boxes her with gun; may lose eye", May 16, page one: "A gush of blood started to stream from her eye-Smith was also seen my an optomologist with who she has at least one more appointment." Somebody has to start editing the Mirror soon!

Insight lead story "One public sector network", June 1-15: "-will want to have more than assurances that confidentiality will not be susceptible of breaches by unauthorised people." Please make that "susceptible to" and not 'of'.

"Gargamel robbed in Kingston" - XNEWS headline, May 16-22, page 3. "A coaster minibus called Gargamel and owned by reggae star Buju Banton, was held up and robbed at gunpoint recently." Clearly, in the view of the writer, Gargamel is more than a bus, it's a person.

Pure Class, "South Florida welcomes Island Grill", May 13-19, page 2: "The Jamaican head of state also took the opportunity to assure the mostly Jamaican audience that things are not so bad in their island home." Perhaps Pure Class is being prophetic and one day Prime Minister Patterson might well become head of state, but for now, he is head of government.

Sunday Observer, "School firebombed", June 10, page one: "Witnesses reported seeing two men on the premises, one of which threw the firebomb into the office window." Since it is obvious that they are talking about the men, that should be "one of whom" and not "one of which".

A kind reader asked me to remind journalists that there is a significant difference between it's and its. Think of it this way: "It's a wise child who knows its own father."

Send spikeables to spike@jol.com.jm; desal@cwjamaica.com or fax to 926-0295. Desmond Allen is a 27-year veteran of journalism

Back to Commentary