{"id":87,"date":"2015-12-28T17:26:17","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T17:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/?page_id=87"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:56:49","slug":"justice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/revolutionsincommunication.com\/journalism\/beats\/justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Cops & courts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The justice beat<\/strong> – from cops to courts and everything in between — is interesting and demanding. \u00a0It demands, of course, complete accuracy and lots of running around. \u00a0It’s interesting too, in that you get a complete view of your city or county, from bottom to top, and are exposed to the very best and the very worst people who might live there.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the best known journalist on the police beat\u00a0was Edna Buchanan at the Miami Herald. \u00a0Here’s a New Yorker profile by Calvin Trillin<\/a>. \u00a0Imagine a lead that starts: “Gary Robinson died hungry.”<\/p>\n

Access to information<\/h3>\n

Your usual contact on the police beat is the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the department. Usually there are emails for routine information and press releases that deal with felony information. Get on their email list and learn the official phone numbers if you are going to be on the beat.<\/p>\n

Although many police departments keep a running online log of arrest incidents, these often lack names of people arrested.\u00a0 For example, Radford has this: https:\/\/www.radfordva.gov\/DocumentCenter\/View\/6242\/01262026-02012026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is helpful but not complete. You should see the full formal blotter with names of people arrested and charges. This access is routine under the state’s 2021 revision of the FOIA act: https:\/\/foiacouncil.dls.virginia.gov\/ref\/Law-Enforcement%20Records%202024%20DOC.html<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0and also the “Law Enforcement Guide to the Freedom of Information Act<\/a>” published by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.<\/p>\n

Ethical issues in reporting crimes<\/h3>\n

Names of people arrested in major cases should be reported.\u00a0 We do not have secret arrests in the USA.\u00a0 \u00a0However …<\/p>\n

Never report the name of a victim or witness<\/strong> unless they are dead or for some reason they have decided to come forward.*\u00a0 You may have obtained a name lawfully, and you may know that publication of that name may be protected by Supreme Court cases such as Cox v Cohn<\/a>, but the SPJ Code of Ethics very strictly forbids disclosure under the “minimize harm” rule.<\/p>\n

Criminal incident information should be reported judiciously with the idea that suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Therefore, inflammatory statements by those involved (witnesses, police officers, prosecutors) should not be repeated unless and until a jury is empaneled or a trial is being held.\u00a0 \u00a0 (See Ethics and pretrial publicity,<\/a> Media Law & Ethics)<\/p>\n

Ethically writing the story\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The basic police story simply involves who was arrested, where, when and why. Be sure not<\/strong> to write that someone “was arrested for”<\/strong> a crime. Instead, stick to the facts, and write or say that someone was “charged with” a crime.<\/p>\n

Example: “Police charged<\/strong> Fred Jones with<\/strong> armed robbery …”\u00a0 \u00a0Do NOT write: \u00a0“Fred Jones was arrested for<\/em><\/strong> armed robbery last week.”<\/p>\n

You may also need to follow up with the sheriff’s office (which runs the jails and guards the courts) to see if the arrested suspect has been released on bail.<\/p>\n

If arrests are not listed via email to journalists, you are always free to examine the arrest record (aka “police blotter”) at the station house. If police don’t want you to see it, you may have to explain that democracies aren’t supposed to have\u00a0 secret arrests or trials.<\/p>\n

Humanizing the police beat<\/h3>\n

Other typical police beat stories might involve a feature on the “Officer of the Year” (or also fire and rescue personnel) as well as the local crime rate and emergency response times. These tend not to be as timely as other news stories, but they humanize the essential people who work in these difficult jobs.<\/p>\n

For reporters just starting out on the police beat, the idea of a deeper public interest perspective on the police may seem daunting.\u00a0 Here are some basic story ideas:<\/p>\n

— Police, fire and EMS salaries:<\/strong> This is always a good story and can be easily obtained using comparative studies such as the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts annual budget summaries.\u00a0 In non-union states, the Fraternal Order of the Police will sometimes speak for the uniformed officers who might be willing to speak up for higher pay. It’s in everyone’s interest not to underpay police.<\/p>\n

— Police spending:\u00a0<\/strong> Reporters sometimes localize a national story about increased spending on police.\u00a0 Then use your state auditor’s report (APA in Virginia<\/a>) to compare rising costs of local and regional police departments over time.\u00a0 Then, armed with statistical information, you’re in a good position to ask questions about police budgets.<\/p>\n

— Statistics and annual reports:\u00a0<\/strong> Each police department, the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission all keep statistics on arrests and convictions.<\/p>\n

Areas of controversy\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

— Red flag laws<\/strong><\/a> —\u00a0 These laws allow family, friends and others to\u00a0 petition courts to temporarily take firearms from people who may be a risk to themselves or others. Nineteen states, including Virginia and the District of Columbia, have red flag laws. Research has associated red flag laws with lower suicide rates, but there is less peer-reviewed research on whether red flag laws help prevent mass shootings.<\/p>\n

— Equipment:<\/strong>\u00a0 What on earth do rural police departments do with gigantic Mine Resistant vehicles and combat turrets?\u00a0 Track the transfers of military equipment to your police departments.\u00a0 Here are a few national stories:\u00a0 Here is the source for the quarterly government report on the transfer program (click on “Alaska to Wyoming<\/a>“) and here are some of the things you’re looking for:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Visual Journalist June 2020\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>And here is a Reuters story<\/a> about the overall issues.<\/p>\n

— Civil Asset forfeiture:<\/strong>\u00a0 Police in some states can seize assets of suspected criminals, even without a conviction.\u00a0 ProPublica has the story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

— Police disciplinary records:<\/strong>\u00a0 About half of states allow releases through FOIA requests, according to ProPublic<\/a>a.\u00a0 \u00a0In July, 2021, Virginia law changed so that disciplinary records and complaints are now public under the FOIA.<\/a><\/p>\n

— Drug task force funding<\/strong> usually comes from state and federal sources, but in some communities, the task force is directly financed by fines paid by those charged with drug offenses. The potential for corruption and conflicts of interest is serious.<\/p>\n

Unpublishing:<\/strong> The idea of\u00a0 “unpublishing” small crime news stories<\/a> about private people — an American twist on the European privacy law’s “right to be forgotten”<\/a> — has raised basic questions about the way we pursue crime news itself, as two Philadelphia Free Press editors note in this Nieman Lab article.<\/a>\u00a0 “Let’s face it: Crime news is terrible,” they write.<\/p>\n

Racial issues:<\/strong> To what extent have racial minorities been more subject to criminal penalties and less protected by the law?\u00a0 Would we find, for example, that Black men are more likely to be imprisoned on drug charges, or that Black women would be less likely to be taken seriously following sexual assault?\u00a0 A 2017 report<\/a> noted that Black Virginians were over-represented in the prison population for marijuana violations.<\/p>\n

More resources: \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

IRE Resources for investigating police<\/a><\/strong> misconduct and abuse.<\/p>\n

IT’S PUBLIC INFORMATION\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a democracy, there are no secret arrests or trials,<\/strong> <\/em>but sometimes the police withhold information anyway and need to be reminded of public rights under the Constitution and the state Freedom of Information Act.<\/p>\n

You can obtain the name of any person arrested, and the charge, and their current disposition (in or out of jail, bail amount, etc) from the Police Blotter located at the main desk of any police station, even if it is not reported on the police web site.<\/p>\n

There is no reason for news reporters to withhold the names of\u00a0 anyone over age 18 who is arrested and charged with a crime. However, \u00a0there are strong ethical problems and potential safety issues involved in releasing the names of crime witnesses or victims. \u00a0Please ask for guidance from editors or others if unsure about this.\u00a0 So, (again), for ethical reasons, don’t report the names of sexual assault victims or witnesses to crimes.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s important to assume innocence until guilt is proven in other ways as well. For instance, if the police tell you they have a confession, or that the evidence against the suspect is solid, or that there were eyewitnesses to the crime, remember that all this information might not be admitted in court. \u00a0All too often the police and prosecutors use the media to help influence potential jurors before a trial begins.<\/em>\u00a0 This is unethical, but it happens all the time.\u00a0 There are guidelines to the ethical dilemmas here – For instance, the Virginia Bar Association – Virginia Press Association pre-trial publicity guidelines.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0CRIMINAL JUSTICE LINKS<\/strong><\/p>\n