police pios survey report - spj

Mediated AccessPolice Public Information Officers’ Media Management Efforts, Use of Social Media, Handling of Body Camera Footage and Public RecordsCarolyn S. Carlson and Paymon Kashani, March 2016

� 1

Summary

Lawenforcementpublicinforma4onofficers(PIO)haveinplaceanumberofpoliciesthatallowthemtomanagethemessagesbeingsenttothenewsmedia,themostpotentofwhicharethepoliciestorequirereporterstogothroughthemtotalktoanymemberofthepoliceforce.Mostmonitortheinterviewsthatofficersgivetoreporters,mostlysotheycanmanagethemessagesthatarebeinggivenout.AbouthalfofthepolicePIOssurveyedbytheNa4onalInforma4onOfficersAssocia4onandtheSocietyofProfessionalJournalistssaidthattheyhavestoppedtheirofficersfromtalkingtosomereportersormediaoutletsbecauseofproblemsthey’vehadwiththosereporters/outletsstoriesinthepast.VirtuallyallofthePIOsviewitastheirjobtomakesureaccurateinforma4onabouttheagencyisconveyedtothepublic.

Onothertopics,abouthalfofthePIOsareworkingwithrecordsmanagementsoNwarethatisoversevenyearsoldandonlyabouthalfofthesystemsallowthemtoeasilylocateandseparatepublicrecordsfrominves4gatoryorprivatedocuments.MostreceivedatleastaliOleinstruc4ononhowtousethesoNwareorpublicrecordssystem.Abouttwo-thirdssaidtheydidhavesometrainingintheirstate’sopenrecordslawsasitappliestopolicerecords.

Bodycamerasareemployedbyaboutone-thirdofthePIOs’agenciesandsofarthosePIOsareonlygeRngafewrequestsforfootage,mostlyfromthemedia.Mostcommonlythemediawereaskingforfootagewhereamemberofthepublicwaskilledoranofficerusedforce.

PIOsdevotesomeoftheirresourcestoupda4ngtheagencywebsitesandpos4nginforma4ononTwiOer,Facebookorothersocialmediasites.MostoNen,theypostnewsreleaseswithagoodbitofdetail.Evenso,theyreportthatsocialmediahaseitherhadnoimpactontheamountofcontactstheyhavewiththemedia,orthenumberofcontactshasactuallyincreased.

StudySample

ThesurveywasconductedonlinefromJanuary11,2016,toFebruary9,2016.Anemailinvita4onwassentbyNIOAtoitsmembershiprosterof783,withtworemindermessages.Wereceived181responses,foraresponserateof23.1percent.Themarginoferrorforasamplesizeof783is3.5percent.

Oftherespondents,95.6percentworkfull-4meforalawenforcementagencyasaPIO.TherestworkedasaPIOasonlypartoftheirdu4es.OnedescribedthemselvesasafreelancePIO.Overhalftherespondents(56.2%)havesixorfeweryearsofexperienceworkingasaPIO.NearlyafiNh(18.1%)oftherespondentshavebeenworkingasaPIOformorethan15years,14.2percentwithseventonineyears’experienceand11.6percentwith10to15years’experience.Overhalf(57.8%)workedinlawenforcementbeforeworkingasaPIO,16.2percentworkedinjournalismand9.7percentworkedinpublicrela4ons;therestworkedinotherfieldsorwerestudents.

� 2

Thelargestpor4onofrespondents(42.1%)workintheSouth,21percentintheMidwest,13.1percentintheWest,11.2percentintheSouthwest,10.5percentintheNortheastand2.1percentworkedeitherinterna4onallyorna4onally.Nearly100(92)outof129respondentsarebetweentheagesof37and56.

GeneralFindings

Almostallthelawenforcementpublicinforma4onofficerssurveyedbelieveitistheirjobtomakesureaccurateinforma4onfromtheiragencyisconveyedtothepublic(98%).Theytrytomanagethemessagethatgoesouttothepublicbyins4tu4ngpoliciesthatrequiretheofficersintheiragenciestoreferreporterstothePIOwhentheyarecontacteddirectlybyreporters(74%stronglyagree,26%somewhatagree).

Whentherehavebeenproblemswithareporter’sormediaoutlets’storiesinthepast,abouthalfofthePIOswillnothesitatetobanthereporterortheoutletfrominterviewswiththeiragency’spersonnel(stronglyagree19.3%,somewhatagree30.3%).

�

There are reporters or media outlets I

will not allow officers to talk to

because of problems with their stories in the past.

8.3%

17.9%

24.1%30.3%

19.3%

Strongly agreeSomewhat agreeSomewhat disagreeStrongly disagreeNot applicable

� 3

Three-fourthsfeelitisnecessarytosuperviseorotherwisemonitortheinterviewswithpoliceofficersthattheydogrant(30.7%stronglyagree,48.7%somewhatagree).

�

Askedfortheirreasonsformonitoringinterviews,111gaveananswerand70ofthosemen4onedaneedtocontrolthemessagebeinggivenout.Thirty-fivesaidtheyweretheretoprovidecomfortandsupporttotheofficerbeinginterviewed.Andsixsaidtheyjustwantedtomakesurethereporter“stayedontrack”.

Intheareaofcontrollingthemessage,hereisasampleofsomeofthePIOcomments:

• OnePIOsaidtheymonitored“toensurethatthecorrectmessageisgeRngout.Also,makingsurethatthey(theofficers)arenotrevealinginforma4onthatisnotreleasable.”

• Anothersaidtheywanted“toensurethattheinterviewsstaywithintheparametersthatwewant.”

I feel it is necessary to supervise or

otherwise monitor interviews with

police officers from my agency.

4.7%3.3%

12.7%

48.7%

30.7%

Strongly agreeSomewhat agreeSomewhat disagreeStrongly disagreeNot applicable

� 4

• Anotherexplainedthat“ifthereisapar4cularlyconten4ousorcomplicatedtopic,Iprefertobetheretoassistwithanswers/clarifica4on.”

• OnePIOsaidtheyneeded“tomakesurethemediadoesnottrytoaskques4onsthatmayjeopardizeaninves4ga4on.”

• AnotherPIOwasconcernedabout“informa4onandcon4nuityforrequestsfromnumerousnewsorganiza4ons.Newsorganiza4onscanbejealousiftheyperceivethereis‘playingfavorites’orprovidingdetailstoonereporterthatisnotprovidedtoanotheruponrequest.”

Intheareaofcomfortandsupport,severalPIOsmen4onedthatsomeofficerseitherdidn’tlikeorwereafraidofthemediaandtheywantedtoensurethattheofficerswerecomfortableandhadaposi4veexperience.

“Ourofficersanddetec4vesarejustthat--officersanddetec4ves,”onesaid.“Theydonothaveexperienceingivinginterviews.Theyaregenerallynotcomfortableinfrontofacamera.Mypresencegivesthemthatextrasenseofsecuritythatifareportertriestoaskthemaques4onthatisofflimits,Iwillstepinandhandleitforthem.”

WhilethePIOswantedtocloselymonitorthemessagetheagencywassendingtothepublic,themajorityofpolicePIOsdidnot,however,feelitwastheirjobtoprotecttheagencyfromnega4vepublicity.OnlyaboutaquarterofthePIOsagreedwiththestatementthattheyfeltjus4fiedinnotansweringques4onsorschedulinginterviewsthatcouldrevealdamaginginforma4onabouttheagencyoritsofficers.

� 5

�

Three-fourthsviewtheirrela4onshipwiththereporterstheydealwithregularlyasprofessionalandcourteous(73.8%).Andonlyafewthoughtreporterswerenega4velybiasedtowardpolice(3.3%stronglyagreed,29.8%somewhatagreed).

� 6

�

MostPIOsthoughtthereporterswhocoverthePIOs’agencyhadagoodunderstandingofthelawenforcementprocessandthelegalsystem(8.5%stronglyagree,67.3%somewhatagree).Thosewhothoughtthereportersdidn’tunderstandiden4fiedascommonareasofmisunderstandingtheinves4ga4veprocessandlegalrestric4onsonwhatcanbereleased.Severalsuggestedthatbeginningcrimereporterstakeaci4zenspoliceacademycourseordoaride-alongwithanexperiencedofficer.

NotallPIOsarethepublicrecordscustodiansfortheirlawenforcementagencies,butmosthavetodealwithmediarequestsforpublicrecords.Manyareburdenedwitholdcomputersystems.Halfofthe145respondingsaidtheirrecordsmanagementsoNwarerangedfromfouryearsoldtomorethan15yearsold(14.5%4-6years,12.4%7-9years,14.5%10-15yearsandmorethan15years6.9%).Onlyoneinfive(21.4%)hadrecordsmanagementsoNwarenewerthanthreeyearsold.

Abouthalf(50.4%)saidthesystemallowedthemtoeasilylocateandseparatepublicinforma4onfromprivateandinves4gatorydocuments.Somesaidthesystemwasonlypar4allyaccessible,mostlybecausetheys4llhadtoredactunreleasableinforma4on,likedriver’slicensenumbers,manually.

I find that the reporters I deal with tend to be negatively

biased toward the police.

23.8%

43.0%

29.8%

3.3%Strongly agreeSomewhat agreeSomewhat disagreeStrongly disagreeNot applicable

� 7

Onlyahandful(15.5%)saidtheiragencyworkedwithanorganiza4onthatspecializedinpublicrecords,suchasSPJorothers,todevelopthesystemthateasilyprovidedpublicrecordstothepublicandjournalists.

MostPIOssaidtheyreceivedinstruc4ononhowtousetherecordsmanagementsoNwareandpublicrecordssystem(53.2%yes,somewhat,29.8%yes,thoroughly).Andtwothirds(67.3%)saidtheyhavehadtraininginthestate’sopenrecordslawasitappliestopolicerecords.Somereceivedthetrainingfromcity,countyorstateaOorneys,somefromstateagenciesorpolicetrainingfacili4es,somefromself-ini4atedstudyandafewfromsessionswithFirstAmendmentorganiza4onsormediaoutlets.

Onlyaboutone-thirdofthePIOsreportedthattheirdepartmentemployedbodycameras(34.3%).Ofthatpropor4on,about40percentsaidmorethan75percentoftheforcewearsthebodycameras(39.2%),andthesameamountsaidlessthan25percentwearsbodycams(39.2%).

�

Mostoftheagenciesrepresentedbytherespondentshavesomepolicyorlawgoverningthereleaseofbodycamfootage(78.4%),mostlytheirregularopenrecordslaw,butapparentlytheydon’tgetrequestsforfootageveryoNen.ThirteensaidtheyhadnevergoOenarequest(27.1%),while12saidtheyonlygotoneeveryfewmonths(25%)and10saidtheytendedtogetoneonceamonth(20.8%).NoonereportedgeRngrequestseveryday.

What percentage of your police force

wears body cameras?

39.2%

7.8% 13.7%

39.2%

More than 75%50-74%25-49%Less than 25%

� 9

Mostcommonlytheywereaskingforfootagewhereamemberofthepublicwaskilled,anofficerusedbodilyforceortherewasaconfronta4onbetweenanofficerandamemberofthepublic.

Oftherequeststheyreceived,30percentsaidtheyareunabletograntanyofthem(29.3%),whileabouthalfwereabletograntatleastsomeofthem(19.5%some,19.5%most,12.2%almostalland7.3%all).Morethanhalfoftherequestscamefromthemedia(58.3%),withtherestcomingfromlawyers(36.1%)andthepublic(5.6%).

Beforethebodycamerafootageisreleased,however,thefootageisreviewedandsome4mesedited,orredacted.Mostofthe4me,theywouldredactthefacesoriden44esof

Which of the following situations or cases has your agency had that have prompted requests for body camera footage: (click as many as apply)

Answer OptionsResponse Percent

Response Count

A shooting where a member of the public was killed after being shot by a law enforcement officer 48.3% 14

A shooting where a member of the public was injured after being shot by a law enforcement officer 24.1% 7

A shooting where a law enforcement officer was killed 0.0% 0

A shooting where a law enforcement officer was injured 13.8% 4

A call for service response where there was alleged racial or ethnic remarks used 31.0% 9

A call for service response where there was a need for bodily force to be used by a law enforcement officer 62.1% 18

A call for service involving a member of the public considered a celebrity, politician, etc. 20.7% 6

A road-related event such as a vehicle accident 34.5% 10

A confrontation between a law enforcement officer and a member of the public 51.7% 15

A protest or demonstration 20.7% 6

Other (please specify) 12

answered question 29

skipped question 152

� 10

undercoverofficersorinformants(81%),thefacesofvic4ms(71.4%),orthefacesofpeoplewhowereinvolvedinthecallbutwerenotarrestedorconsideredavic4m(66.7%).Mostwoulddeletewhatthedepartmentsconsideredtobegraphicimagesofinjuries(52.4%)orinappropriatelanguageorunnecessarilyembarrassingfootage,suchasanakedperson(47.6%).MostwouldNOTredactthefacesofofficersorthosearrested,however.

AbouthalfofthePIOSpostanewsreleasewithdetailedinforma4onaboutcrimesandincidentsontheiragency’swebsite,e-blastlistorsocialmediaaccountssuchasTwiOerorFacebook(47.9%).Somepostashortsynopsiswithalinktothemoredetailedcrimeincidentreport(17.6%),andsomejustpostthesynopsiswithnolinks(16.9%).Veryfewwillpostthecrimeincidentreportitself(7.7%)ornoinforma4onatall(9.9%).

Mostarepos4ngthebasicinforma4onontheiragency’ssocialmediaaccountswithinminutes(35.8%)oratleastwithinhours(43.1%)aNerpolicelearnoftheincident.Mostjudgethenewsworthinessorimpactoftheeventorcrimeindecidingwhattopost.Thenextconsidera4onispublicsafety.Whenareporterasksforinforma4oninaddi4ontowhathasbeenposted,thePIOssaytheytypicallycanrespondwithinminutes(53.2%,or11.3%

Which type of the following scenes captured on the body camera footage are most often redacted, or edited out, before the footage is released to the public? (click as many as apply)

Answer OptionsResponse Percent

Response Count

Faces/identities of officers 23.8% 5

Faces/identities of those arrested 19.0% 4

Faces/identities of victims 71.4% 15

Faces/identifies of people involved in the call for service who were not arrested or considered a victim 66.7% 14

Faces/identities of undercover officers or informants 81.0% 17

What the department considers graphic images of injuries 52.4% 11

What the department considers to be inappropriate language or unnecessarily embarrassing footage (such as a naked person)

47.6% 10

Location identifying information, like street signs, house numbers, etc. 14.3% 3

License plate numbers 33.3% 7

Other (please specify) 15

answered question 21

skipped question 160

� 11

immediately)iftheinforma4onisavailableforrelease,althoughsome4mestheresponseiswithinafewhours(29.8%).

Interes4ngly,morethan40percentsayusingsocialmediahasactuallyincreasedthenumberofdirectcontactstheygetfromthenewsmedia(42.3%)ratherthandecreasedthem,although30.9percentsaidtheydidnotknowwhatimpactsocialmediahashadonthenumberofmediacontacts.Therestsaiditdecreasedthenumberofrequests.

�

OnePIOsaid,“Itreallyhasnotchangedmuch.Reporterss4llwantaddi4onalinforma4on,andaskques4onsthatarenotansweredinthemediarelease.”

Anotherrespondentsaid,“Tweetsbothincreaseanddecreasethenumberofcontacts.AtweetwilloNencauseanimmediaterushofdirectphonecalls.Butmany4mes,tweetsingeneraldecreasethenumberofcallsover4measouragencyprovidesmoreinforma4onviasocialmedia.”

Severalpointedoutthatmanyoftheirpos4ngscreatedastorythatthemediadidnotalreadyknowabout.“Weareabletosharemoreinforma4onthatwouldnothaveotherwisebeensharedintradi4onalmedia,”onePIOsaid.“Tradi4onalmediamonitorsourSMaccountsandbuildsstoriesfromthem.Wehavebecomemoreproac4ve.”

Policepublicinforma4onofficerswilldevotemuchoftheirresources,asinman-hours,tokeepingthesocialmediaaccountsandwebsitesupdated.About10percentsay75percentof

How much has social media changed the

number of direct contacts you get from

the news media?

30.9%

8.1%

8.9%8.9%

0.8%

42.3%

Increased direct contacts overallReduced direct contacts by 75-100 percentReduced direct contacts by 50 to 74 percentReduced direct contacts by 25 to 49 percentReduced direct contacts by less than 24 percentDon’t know

� 12

theirresourcesgotosocialmedia(9.8%),whileoneinfivesayit’soverhalf(21.1%)andaboutone-thirdsaytheyspend25-49percentoftheirresourcesonsocialmedia(37.4%).

It’shardtotellhoweffec4vetheirsocialmediaeffortsare,however.Only8percentuseanoutsidemediamonitoringservicetomeasurethereturnontheinvestmenttheofficeispuRngintosocialmedia,while30.1percentusein-houseanaly4cs.Mostrelyonanecdotes(23.9%)orcasualobserva4on(38.1%).

Conclusion

PolicePIOstrytocontrolthemessagesbeingsenttothenewsmediabyrequiringreporterstogothroughthemtotalktoanymemberofthepoliceforce,andbybeingpresentwhenthoseinterviewstakeplace.However,mostsaidtheywouldanswerques4onsandscheduleinterviewseveniftheyknewitwouldrevealdamaginginforma4onabouttheagencyortheofficers.Butiftheyfindproblemswithareporter’sstories,atleasthalfsaidtheywouldbanthatreporter,andsome4mesthemediaoutlet,fromanyfurtherinterviews.Theyallbelieveitistheirjobtomakesureaccurateinforma4onabouttheagencyisconveyedtothepublic.

PIOsthoughtmostofthereporterstheydealtwithregularlyhadagoodunderstandingofpoliceprocesses.SomesuggestedthatbeginningreporterscouldlearnmorebyaOendingaci4zen’spoliceacademycourseordoingaride-alongwithaseasonedofficer.

Itisreallytooearlytomeasuretheimpactofbodycamerasonthehandlingofpublicrecords.Onlyaboutone-thirdofthePIOssaidtheiragenciesemployedbodycamerasandthosethathadthemsaidnotalloftheirofficerswerewearingthem.TheyaregeRngafewrequestsforbodycamerafootage,mostlyfromthemedia,butnotanoverwhelmingnumber,andmostlywhentherearecasesinvolvingthedeathofamemberofthepublicoranofficerusingbodilyforce.

Intoday’sworld,PIOsposttheirnewsreleasesontheagencieswebsiteandsendlinkstoTwiOer,Facebookandothersocialmediasites.Theamountofinforma4onpostedtosocialmediavaries,butthePIOsreportthattheuseofsocialmediahasgenerallyincreasedthenumberofcallstheygetfromthenewsmedia,ratherthanreducedit.ThePIOsdevoteaconsiderablenumberofman-hourstokeepingthewebsiteandsocialmediauptodate,butmostdonotmeasuretheeffec4venessoftheireffortsinanyscien4ficmanner.

PIOsarenotalwaystherecordscustodianfortheiragencies,althoughtheysome4meslookforrecordstoanswerques4onsbythemedia.AbouthalfreportthatthesoNwaretheyareusingisratherdatedanddoesn’tmakeiteasytoredacttheprivateinforma4on.There’snotalotoftraininggoingonforthesoNware,althoughmostreportthattheydidgetsometrainingonthestate’sopenrecordslawasitappliestopolicerecords.

SponsorsandAuthors

� 13

ThesurveywasconductedbyDr.CarolynS.Carlson,anassociateprofessorofjournalismintheSchoolofCommunica4onandMediaatKennesawStateUniversityandamemberoftheSocietyofProfessionalJournalists’FreedomofInforma4onCommiOee.PaymonKashaniisagraduatestudentintheMasterofArtsinIntegratedGlobalCommunica4onprogramintheSchoolofCommunica4onandMediaatKennesawStateUniversity,andagraduateresearchassistanttoDr.Carlson.

TheNa4onalInforma4onOfficersAssocia4onisdedicatedtohelpingpublicinforma4onofficerslearnhowtoeffec4velydeliverthemessagesoftheirorganiza4on,withspeedandaccuracy.TheNIOAwasfoundedin1989astheonlyna4onalorganiza4ondevotedexclusivelytorepresen4ngandmee4ngtheneedsofemergencyservicesandpublicsafetyinforma4onofficers.Formoreinforma4onaboutNIOA,visitnioa.org.

TheSocietyofProfessionalJournalistsisalsoasponsorofthisproject.Foundedin1909asSigmaDeltaChi,SPJpromotesthefreeflowofinforma4onvitaltoawell-informedci4zenry,workstoinspireandeducatethenextgenera4onofjournalists;andprotectsFirstAmendmentguaranteesoffreedomofspeechandpress.Formoreinforma4onaboutSPJ,visitspj.org.

Contactinforma9on:

Dr.CarolynS.Carlson,[email protected],404-502-1638(cell)

http://www.nioa.org

http://www.spj.org

mailto:[email protected]

� 14

AppendixA:SurveyQues9ons

HowlonghaveyouworkedasapolicePIO?

WhatwasyourworkexperiencepriortobecomingalawenforcementPIO?

Didyouhaveanytraininginyourstate’sopenrecordslawasitappliestopolicerecords?

Whatstateisyouragencylocated?

IthinkthereportersIdealwithtypicallyunderstandthelawenforcementprocessandlegalsystem.

0-3years 50 32.3%

4-6years 37 23.9%

7-9years 22 14.2%

10-15years 18 11.6%

Morethan15years 28 18.1%

Publicrela4ons 15 9.7%

Journalism 25 16.2%

LawEnforcement 89 57.8%

Other 25 16.2%

Yes 103 67.3%

No 50 32.7%

Interna4onal 1 0.66%

Mid-West 32 21.05%

Na4onwide 2 1.32%

NorthEast 16 10.53%

South 64 42.11%

SouthWest 17 11.18%

West 20 13.16%

Stronglyagree 13 8.5%

Somewhatagree 103 67.3%

Somewhatdisagree 26 17.0%

� 15

Whatarethetypicalareasofmisunderstandingandwhatsugges4onswouldyouoffertocorrectthem?Pleasespecify:

IfindthatthereportersIdealwithtendtobenega4velybiasedtowardthepolicesta4on.

Ibelievemyjobistomakesureaccurateinforma4onfrommyagencyisconveyedtothepublic,

Ifeeljus4fiedinnotansweringques4onsand/orrefusingreporters’interviewifIfeelitcouldrevealdamaginginforma4onaboutthelawenforcementagencyoritsemployees.

StronglydisagreeNotApplicable

110

7.2%0.0%

Misunderstanding:Courtprocedures 4 11.76%

Misunderstanding:GeneralKnowledge 5 14.71%

Misunderstand:Informa4onReleased 8 23.53%

Misunderstanding:Inves4ga4on 2 5.88%

Misunderstanding:Jurisdic4on/Records 2 5.88%

Misunderstanding:Other 7 20.59%

Sugges4on:TakeaCourse 6 17.65%




StronglydisagreeNotApplicable

360

23.8%0.0%




Stronglydisagree 0 0.0%





Notapplicable 6 4.0%

� 16

Myofficersknowtoandwillreferreporterstomewhentheyhavebeencontacteddirectlybyreporters.

Ifeelitnecessarytosuperviseorotherwisemonitorinterviewswithpoliceofficersfrommyagency.

Whatisyourreasonformonitoringinterviews?Pleasespecify:

TherearereportersormediaoutletsIwillnotallowofficerstotalktobecauseofproblemswiththeirstoriesinthepast.

Myrela4onshipwiththereportersIdealwithregularlyisbestdescribedas:

Stronglyagree 111 74%

Somewhatagree 39 26%









Comfort/Support 35 31.53%

ControltheMessage 70 63.06%

KeepReportersonTrack 6 5.41%






Trus4ngandfriendly 34 23.4%

Professionalandcourteous 107 73.8%

Strictlybusiness 4 2.8%

Wetolerateeachother 0 0.0%

� 17

HowoldistherecordsmanagementsoNwareinthecomputersystembeingusedbyyourpolicedepartment?

Doesthesystemallowyoutoeasilylocateandseparatepublicinforma4onfromprivateandinves4gatorydocuments?

Doesthesystemallowyoutoeasilylocateandseparatepublicinforma4onfromprivateandinves4gatorydocuments?If“par4ally,”pleaseexplain.

Hasthedepartmentworkedwithorganiza4onsspecializinginpublicrecords,suchasSPJorothers,todevelopasystemforeasilyandquicklyprovidingpublicrecordssoughtoutbythepublicandbyjournalists?

WereyouinstructedontheuseofrecordsmanagementsoNwareandpublicrecordssystem?

Doesyourdepartmentemploybodycameras?

Adversarial 0 0.0%

1-3years 31 21.4%

4-6years 21 14.5%

7-9years 18 12.4%

10-15years 21 14.5%

Morethan15years 10 6.9%

Idon’tknow 43 29.7%

Ourrecordsarenotcomputerized 1 0.7%

Yes 70 50.4%

No 38 27.3%

Par4ally 31 22.3%

Redac4ons 13 54.17%

Other 11 45.83%

Yes 22 15.5%

No 63 44.4%

Idon’tknow 57 40.1%

Yes,thoroughly 42 29.8%

Yes,somewhat 75 53.2%

No,notatall 24 17.0%

� 18

Whatpercentageofyourpoliceforcewearsbodycameras?

Doesyourdepartmenthavepolicies(orlaws)regardingreleaseofbodycamerainforma4ontothepublicorthemedia?

Doesyourdepartmenthavepolicies(orlaws)regardingreleaseofbodycamerainforma4ontothepublicorthemedia?Ifyes,howdoesthepolicyonthebodycamerafootageaddresspublicaccesstothefootage?Pleasespecify:

Onaverageandnottakingintoaccountspecialcases,howoNendoyougetrequestsforbodycamerafootage?

Whichofthefollowingsitua4onsorcaseshasyouragencyhadthathavepromptedrequestsforbodycamerafootage:Clickasmanyasapply

Yes 49 34.3%

No 94 65.7%

Morethan75% 20 39.2%

50-74% 7 13.7%

25-49% 4 7.8%

Lessthan25% 20 39.2%

Yes 40 78.4%

No 4 7.8%

Don’tknow 7 13.7%

ANerInves4ga4onRequest 12 33.33%

Law 6 16.67%

Other 18 50%

Everydayornearlyeveryday 0 0.0%

Atleastonceaweek 5 10.4%

Atleastonceamonth 10 20.8%

Atleastonceeveryfewmonths 12 25.0%

Atleastonceayear 8 16.7%

Never 13 27.1%

Ashoo4ngwhereamemberofthepublicwaskilledaNerbeingshotbyalawenforcementofficer

14 48.3%

� 19

WhichtypeofthefollowingscenescapturesonthebodycamerafootagearemostoNenredacted,oreditedout,beforethefootageisreleasedtothepublic?Clickasmanyasapply

Whatpropor4onoftherequestforbodycamerafootageareyouabletogrant(evenaNeredi4ng)?

Ashoo4ngwhereamemberofthepublicwasinjuredaNerbeingshotbyalawenforcementofficer

7 24.1%

Ashoo4ngwherealawenforcementofficerwaskilled 0 0.0%

Ashoo4ngwherealawenforcementofficerwasinjured 4 13.8%

Acallforserviceresponsewheretherewasanallegedracialorethnicremarksused

9 31.0%

Acallforserviceresponsewheretherewasaneedforbodilyforcetobeusedbyalawenforcementofficer

18 62.1%

Acallforserviceinvolvingamemberofthepublicconsideredacelebrity,poli4cian,etc.

6 20.7%

Aroad-relatedeventsuchavehicleaccident 10 34.5%

Aconfronta4onbetweenalawenforcementofficerandamemberofthepublic 15 51.7%

Aprotestordemonstra4on 6 20.7%

Other 12

Faces/iden44esofofficers 5 23.8%

Faces/iden44esofthosearrested 4 19.0%

Faces/iden44esofvic4ms 15 71.4%

Faces/iden44esofpeopleinvolvedinthecallforservicewhowerenotarrestedorconsideredavic4m

14 66.7%

Face/iden44esofundercoverofficersorinformants 17 81.0%

Whatthedepartmentconsidersgraphicimagesorinjuries 11 52.4%

Whatthedepartmentconsiderstobeinappropriatelanguageorunnecessarilyembarrassingfootage(suchasanakedperson)

10 47.6%

Loca4oniden4fyinginforma4on,likestreetsigns,housenumbers,etc. 3 14,3%

Licenseplatenumbers 7 33.3%

Other 15

All 3 7.3%

Almostall 5 12.2%

� 20

TherequestsforbodycamerafootagemostoNencomefrom

Howmuchinforma4onaboutcrimesandincidentsdoyoupostonyouragency’swebsite,e-blastlistoritssocialmediaaccounts(TwiOer,Facebook)?

HowquicklyaNerpolicelearnoftheincidentareyoutypicallyabletopostthebasicinforma4ononthewebsiteorsocialmediaaccounts?

Whatarethecriteriathattriggerasocialmediapos4ng?Pleasespecify:

Mostofthem 8 19.5%

Someofthem 8 19.5%

Fewofthem 2 4.9%

Hardlyanyofthem 3 7.3%

None 12 29.3%

Media 21 58.3%

Public 2 5.6%

Lawyers 13 36.1%

Other 7

Wepostthecrimeincidentreportandanewsrelease 11 7.7%

Wepostanewsreleasewithdetailedinforma4on 68 47.9%

Wepostashortsynopsiswithlinkstothecrimeincidentreportand/oradetailednewsrelease

25 17.6%

Wepostashortsynopsiswithnolinks 24 16.9%

Wetypicallydonotpostinforma4ononourwebsiteand/orsocialmediaaccountsaboutcrimeandincidents.

14 9.9%

Withinminutes 44 35.8%

Withinhours 53 43.1%

Withinaday 23 18.7%

Withinafewdays 3 2.4%

Newsworthy/Events/Impact 59 51.75%

NoCriteria/NA 5 4.39%

Other 7 6.14%

� 21

Ifareporterasksyouforinforma4onnotincludedonthewebsiteorsocialmediaaccounts,howquicklyareyoutypicallyabletorespondtothequeryiftheinforma4onisavailableforrelease?

Howmuchhassocialmediachangedthenumberofdirectcontactsyougetfromthenewsmedia?

HowhasthenatureofyourmediaquerieschangedsinceyoustartedpuRnginforma4onoutonsocialmedia?Pleasespecify.

Whatpercentageofthepublicinforma4onoffice’sresources(i.e.manhours)isspentonanaverageweekupda4ngthewebsite,sendinge-blastsandupda4ngthesocialmediaaccounts?

PressRelease 5 4.39%

PublicSafety 33 28.95%

VeOed/PersonalChoice 5 4.39%

Immediately 14 11.3%

Withinminutes 66 53.2%

Withinhours 37 29.8%

Withindays 1 0.8%

Atleastbeforetheirdeadline 6 4.8%

Increaseddirectcontactoverall 52 42.3%

Reduceddirectcontactsby75-100percent 1 0.8%

Reduceddirectcontactby50-74percent 11 8.9%

Reduceddirectcontactsby25-49percent 11 8.9%

Reduceddirectcontactsbylessthan24percent 10 8.1%

Don’tknow 38 30.9%

Crea4ngaStory 11 10.48%

DecreasedRequests 12 11.43%

IncreasedRequests-- 25 23.81%

No-orLiOle-Change 16 15.24%

Other 15 14.29%

RequestforMoreInforma4on 16 15.24%

Unknown/NA 10 9.52%

Morethan75percent 12 9.8%

� 22

Howdoyoumeasuretheeffec4venessorthereturnontheinvestmentyourofficeispuRngintosocialmediaefforts?

Atwhatlevelofgovernmentdoyouwork?

Whatisyourgender?

50to74percent 26 21.1%

25to49percent 46 37.4%

Lessthan24percent 39 31.7%

Anecdotally 27 23.9%

Bycasualobserva4ons 43 38.1%

In-houseanalysis 34 30.1%

Outsidemediamonitoringservices 9 8.0%

Other 14

Federal 3 2.2%

State 18 13.1%

County 48 35%

Municipal 68 49.6%

Tribal 0 0.0%

Other 4

Male 80 58.4%

Female 57 41.6%

� 23

AppendixB:Open-endedresponsesQues4on11Whatarethetypicalareasofmisunderstandingandwhatsugges4onswouldyouoffertocorrectthem?Pleasespecify:

Howthejus4cesystemworks.Mediafeelsthatweare"against"themanddon'twanttoprovideinforma4on.

Theydonotunderstandwhatinforma4oncanbeprovidedunderFloridarecordslaw.

Patrolresponseanddu4es.Inves4ga4veprocedures.Caselaw

Reportersdon'tknowbasiclawsorwhatpolicedoonadaytodaybasis.Theyshouldtaketrainingonstateandlocallawsanddoaridealongwithapoliceman.

Theprocessesdonotseemdis4ncttoreporters.Crime,inves4ga4on,arrest,interroga4on/interview,booking,bail,arraignment,etc.

Useofforce,rulesofevidence,probablecause,terminology.There'salsoageneralmisunderstandingofoverallprocedureswhich,justlikethepublic,stemsfromrelyingonTVshowsandmoviesastheirbasisforhowpoliceworkisdone.

Ques4onistooallinclusive.Understandingvariesgreatlyamongdifferentjournalists.

Reportersdon'tunderstandthedifferencebetweenandarrestdocumentandanindictment.Nolurkingaboutjudicialprocess

releasingcertaininforma4onasitpertainstotheinves4ga4on

Theneedtoprotecttheintegrityoftheinves4ga4onbynotreleasingcertaindetails.Takingthe4metoexplaininsteadofjustsayingnooNenhelps.

Jurisdic4on,openrecords

TheyoNendon'tunderstandourneedforkeepinginves4ga4vedetailsprivate.Theydon'tunderstandthejobsofanofficer/detec4ve,whatgoesintoacallforservice,aninves4ga4on,whythingscantakelongerthantheythinktheyshould,etc.Idomybesttoexplaintothemingeneraltermswhythingsarethewaytheyare,andsome4mesIusepast(adjudicated)caseexamplestomakemypoint.

ThereseemstobeliOletrainingorevenpassingalongofinforma4ontonewhiresinthemedia.Ispendalotof4meexplainingprocessesandterminologyasitpertainstoLE.

NounderstandingofthecourtsystemandveryliOleoflawenforcement.Havebeeninstruc4ngreportersonaoneononebasis.

Theroleoflawenforcementinthecriminaljus4cesystem;ourreleaseofinforma4onandhowitworkswithaninves4ga4on;andthedefini4onofarealstory.Alljournalistscouldbenefitfromaci4zen’spoliceacademycourse,agreaterunderstandingofwhatpolicedo,suchasthroughridealongsandlookingatthebiggerpictureofissuesratherthanjusttryingtofindastorytomeettheircreateddeadline

Thereportersinouragencyareveryyoungandinexperienced.Theytypicallydon'tunderstandjurisdic4onaldifferences.Idon'thavesugges4onsforcorrec4on.Ithinkeduca4onofthemediaispartofourjob.

Typicallythejudicialprocessispoorlyunderstood.Fromwarranttoarresttocourtproceedings.

� 24

Laws,policies,useofforcematrix,thedailydictatesoflawenforcement.AnumberofareaPIOshavetriedtoholdeduca4onalforums-notforonlythecrimereporters,butforeditors,columnists,opinionwritersandsuch-buttheycannotbebotheredtolearn.Theins4tu4onsrefusetopar4cipate.

Theyshouldlearnthedifferencebetweenaburglaryandarobbery-numberoneerrormadebyTVreporters;Theyshouldtakeaci4zen’spoliceacademytolearnabouttheagencyheorshecovers;theyshouldalsodoridealongsorasktoaOendtrainings.

Jurisdic4onclarifica4onandpublicrecordstraining

agencyconfusion,pullingrecords,accessinginforma4on.

ColoradoOpenRecordsLaws-CriminalJus4ceRecordsAct-specificdisqualifiersforreleaseofinforma4on.TheprocessofcriminalchargesthroughouttheCriminalJus4ceSystem.Jointtrainingsonthelawstheywanttoexploitandcircumvent.TrainingonCriminalJus4ceRecordsActandourlimita4onsregardingthereleaseofinforma4on.

Moreunderstandingofpoliceopera4onsandtheCriminalJus4cesystemwouldbehelpful.AOendingCi4zenPoliceAcademiesandotherlearningopportuni4escanbehelpful.

The4meittakestogetacasefromarres4ngasuspecttothatsuspectbeingformallychargedwiththecrime.Onepoten4alsolu4onwouldbetohaveaquick1-2hourtrainingclassonceayearforlocaljournalists,oratleastthenewones.

BecausetherearenobeatreportersinthemediamarketsIdealwith,fewifanyunderstandlawenforcement,thejudicialsystemorthelaw.Withanareaofinterestsoconsequen4al,havingbeatreportersorevenabaselineofunderstandingwouldbebeneficial.Ispendalotof4meeduca4ngreporterswhichI'mhappytodo,buttheycouldfindthisinforma4onontheirownwithaliOledirec4onfromtheirmanagement,whichalsoisn'toccurring.

Reportersinthismarketaregenerallyrightoutofcollegewithnoexperience.ManyarefromotherstatesbecauseofourproximitytoCampLejeuneUSMCBase.Iwouldsuggestthatreportersandjournalistseducatethemselvesandaskques4ons.

Generallawenforcementandcourtprocedures.

Jurisdic4on,releaseofinforma4onrelatedtovic4msandjuveniles,releaseofinforma4oncri4caltotheintegrityofaninves4ga4on. Iwouldrecommendrequiredtrainingforjournaliststobeabletorequestinforma4onfromlawenforcementagencies.

Justagenerallackofknowledgeinprocedure,terminology,andetc.

Informa4onaboutacase,isusuallys4llinprogress.S4cktothebasics.

ReportersoNendonotunderstandtheroleoftheDAasitrelatestocasemanagement;and,courtsasitrelatestopreandpost-trialac4ons.Processingofjuvenilesisevenmoreconfusing.

Ithinksomeofthemdonotunderstandthedifferencebetweenanarrestandbookingthesuspectintoajailfacilityandanarrestinwhichthepersonwasissuedasummons(mostlywithmisdemeanorarrests.Somedonottakethe4metounderstandorresearchthecriminalstatutestounderstandwhyapersonwaschargedwithwhattheywerecharged.InquiteafewinstancesIwouldhavetoexplainspecificallywhathestatutestatedforthemtounderstandthereasoning.Statute4tlesdon'talwaysencompassalloftheac4onsthatapersoncanbechargedwithforthatpar4cularstatute.

� 25

IPRAlaws,HIPAAlaws,andgeneralprivacyactlaws.

Reportersdon'tknowthedifferencebetweenacriminalcomplaintandanindictment.Mostreportersdonotunderstandthejudicialsystem,andfew,ifany,haveagraspoftheprocessesthatgovernthelawenforcementcommunity

� 26

Ques4on17Whatisyourreasonformonitoringinterviews?Pleasespecify:

Moresotomaketheofficermorecomfortablewiththemediaandansweranyques4ons.

ToensurethatthecorrectmessageisgeRngout.Also,makingsurethattheyarenotrevealinginforma4onthatisnotreleasable.

Bethereiftheyhaveaques4onorneedaddi4onalinforma4on

Toensurethereporterisfairandaccurate.Toassistthelawenforcementofficerincasehehasissueswiththereporter.

Makesuretheystaywithinpolicy

Consistencyininforma4onreleased.Observethereporters’demeanor.Futuretrainingpurposes.

Primarilytoprovidesupportforthestaffmemberspeakingtothemediaandtoensurethatareporterstaysontopic.

BecauseIworkdirectlyfortheChiefofPolicewhoshouldalwaysknowwhenamemberofhis/herdepartmentisconduc4nganinterview

Tomakesuretheappropriateinforma4onisprovideandthatthemessageisconveyedappropriately.

SoIknowwhathasbeensaidtorepresenttheagency.ThePIOisresponsibleforMediacontact.

Toensureconsistent,accurateinforma4onisconveyed.

TheSheriffrequeststhatIdothat.

Makesuretheydonotrevealanyinforma4onthatisexemptfrompublicrecord,soastonotviolatethelaworcompromiseacriminalinves4ga4on

Informa4onandtoensurethattheinterviewsstaywithintheparametersthatwewant

Tomakesurethatthereporterstaysontopicandsodoestheofficer.

UsuallyattherequestofofficerandensuretheydidagoodjobtorelaytotheChief

Toensuretheflowofinforma4onisappropriategiventhecircumstancesofthecaseinvolved

Tomaintainconsistencyinmessaging.

Theinterviewee'slackofmediaexperience.Toassurethatmyagency'smessagewasconveyedproperly.Toassistifneeded.

reporterscantakeadvantageofthosethatarenotfamiliarwiththeprocessandwhatmayormaynotbereleased

Itisimportantformetoknowwhatinforma4ontheyarerelayingtomakesuremessageisconsistentthroughoutthedepartment.

Forfollowupques4onsandtokeepreportersontopic

Dependsontheinterview.Somecaseswedon'twantcertainthingsrevealedtothepublic

� 27

Toensureuniformityofinforma4onreleaseandconsistentmessagingifmorethanonepersonisgivinganintervieworstatement.

Keeptheinterviewontrack

Itmakesthemmorecomfortable.Theyfeelliketheyhaveanexperttoguidethem.Theyaskforadviceandassistanceonhowtointeractwiththereporters.Also,iftheysaysomethingunexpected,I'llknowrightawayinsteadofcatchingitonthenews.IfI'mpresent,usuallyIcantalkthereportersintonotusingsoundbitesthatwe'renotcomfortablewith.

Informa4onformediamonitoring

Standardizemessageandpreventgaffes

Iftherearefollowupques4onsorissueswithwhatwassaid,Iamtheonethatwillques4oned.Manyofficersdonottrustreporters.

Toensurethattheofficerconduc4ngtheinterviewdoesnotrevealinforma4onwhichwouldbeadetrimenttoanongoinginves4ga4on.

Beingawareofwhatissaid,messaging

Toofferhelpfuladviceforlaterinterviews,cri4queresponsesandensureaccuracy

Unityofmessagerefrainfromdiscussingpolicy.

Ifthereisapar4cularlyconten4ousorcomplicatedtopic,Iprefertobetheretoassistwithanswers/clarifica4on

Keepingjournalistsontopicandin-bounds

toensurethereleaseofaccurateinfoensurereportersareac4ngwithinparameters

Mostly,ourofficersareuncomfortablespeakingtothemedia.Iamtheretore-assurethem.Imayalsoaddininforma4onorclarifystatementsifIfeelthereportercouldmisinterpretthem.

some4mesonlyspecificinforma4onshouldbereleased,someofficerdonotliketospeaktothemedia

Accuracy,agencymessaging,protec4onofagency&staff.Truthfulness

makingsureIknowwhatinforma4onisgeRngoutsoweareallgivingthesameinforma4on

Thefirst4metheydoaninterviewtomakesuretheyunderstandandarecomfortable

Mostofthe4meit'sbecausetheofficerisnotcomfortabledoinganintervieweventhoughtheyareusuallyasubjectmaOerexpert.Some4mesIwillmonitorifthetopicissensi4ve,justtoplaythe'badguy'behindthecamerathatcantellthereporterwhatcanorcannottalkabout.

Imonitortheinterviewstokeepthereporterontasktowhytheinterviewwasrequested.I'vehadreportersaOempttofishforinforma4ononotherincidentsinsteadoffocusingonthecurrentinterview.

Iwanttobethereiftheyneedassistancewiththeirresponses,andIwanttomakesurethattheinforma4ontheyarepuRngouttothemediaisconsistentwithwhatIorotherrepresenta4vesarepuRngout.

� 28

RoadofficersarenotaccustomedtobeinginterviewedbythemediaasthePIOorCommandStaffare.IamtheretobemoreofacomforttotheofficersotheyaremoreopentothereporterthantheynormallywouldbeifIwerenotthere.

Tomakesuretheofficerfeelscomfortablethattheyarenot"leNtothewolves"andtomakesurethereporterisnotaskingques4onsthatwearenotallowedtoansweraccordingtoOpenRecordsLaws,departmentpolicy,andstatelaw.

Tomaintainarecordoftheinterview.ONensoundbitesandsupposedquotesareoutofcontextorinaccurateandmyadministra4onwantsapreciserecordofwhatwasdiscussedintheinterview.

TomakesureIknowwhatisbeingputout.

Accuracyandtomaketheofficerfeelcomfortableabouttheanswersgiven.

Tomakesuretheofficerstaysonmessageandisnotputonthespotonanothertopic.

SoIknowwhatisaskedandanswered

Stylis4cinstruc4on,educa4ngOfficersinprovidingthebestinforma4on,encouragingaposi4veinterac4onwithjournalists.

Monitoringaccuracyinrepor4ngbytheinterviewingjournalist;alsoasa"fallback"sourceshouldtheintervieweeneedassistancewithansweringques4ons.

Becauseofficersarenotaccustomedtospeakingwithjournalistsandtheymightnotunderstandsomethingthathasbeenaskedofthem.

Tobesureourofficersareconveyingpropermessaging.

Tomakesuretheintervieweeiscomfortableandunderstandstheques4ons;toassistthereporterwithansweringques4onsthatpersonmaynotknowtheanswerto;andtobeabletobriefmycommandstaffonthestory

Iwanttobefamiliarwithanypublicinforma4onthat'sgoingoutaboutouragency,nomaOerfromwhomitoriginates.Ialsowanttobeavailabletoassistifourofficersareaskedques4onstheyaren'tequippedorcomfortableanswering.Lastly,ifIaskanofficertodoanoncamera,it'simportantthatImakemyselfavailabletothem.

OfficeriscomfortablewithinterviewerConsistencywithmessageOverallsupport

Toensureaccuratestatementsarebeingrecorded

Notnecessarily"monitoring"-justbeingtherefortheofficer'smoralsupportandtoobjecttoany"outofline"ques4ons.

tomakesurethemediadoesnottrytoaskques4onsthatmayjeopardizeaninves4ga4on

PAOsupport

ImainlymonitorbecauseanOfficerrequestsmetobepresentduringaninterviewwiththemedia.

tohelpensureaccuracyoftheresponsesprovidedduringtheinterviewprocess

� 29

IncaseassistanceisneededandtoreassurethosewithliOlemediaexperience.

Ensureaccurateinforma4onisprovided,ensureaccurateinforma4onisreported,andbeavailableifthepersonbeingintervieweddoesnothaveananswer.

Toavertanyunintendedmisleadingorincorrectinforma4on.Toensureallessen4alinforma4onisgiven.Toensurejournalistques4onsarefairandthatwearetheappropriateagencytobegivingaresponse.

IfmediamanagementismyprimaryresponsibilityIcannoteffec4velyfulfillthatresponsibilitywithoutmonitoringagency/mediainterac4ons.

Moretokeepthemontrackthananythingelse.What'smoreimportantistocoachthembeforetheinterviewisconductedtomakethemfamiliarwithanyredflagindicators.

Toensureourmissionandgoalsareproperlycommunicatedtothepublic.

Forrepor4ngofwhatisbeingsaidtomyChiefandalsotovetanyconcerningques4onsthatmightnotneedtobeanswered

Officersinexperiencewithinterviews

Uniformityandconformity

Ourofficersanddetec4vesarejustthat-officersanddetec4ves.Theydonothaveexperienceingivinginterviews.Theyaregenerallynotcomfortableinfrontofacamera.Mypresencegivesthemthatextrasenseofsecuritythatifareportertriestoaskthemaques4onthatisofflimits,Iwillstepinandhandleitforthem.

Tobeinvolvedinwhatinforma4onisspokenonbehalfofouragency.

Intervieweesinexperiencedandbearesourceforthosebeinginterviewed,ensuringthemessagewewanttoconveyisclear,monitoring.

SothatIamawareofwhatinforma4onisbeingprovided

Iliketohearwhatisbeingsaid,betheretoansweraddi4onalques4onsandclarifyanythingthatneedstobeclarified.

Toensuretheintegrityofac4veinves4ga4ons.SomeoftheDepu4esarenotawareofwhatispublicinforma4onandwhatisnot.

Tomakesurethatinforma4onthatshouldnotgetreleaseddoesnotgetreleasedimproperly

Informa4onaccuracyandcon4nuityforrequestsfromnumerousnewsorganiza4ons.Newsorganiza4onscanbejealousiftheyperceivethereis"playingfavorites"orprovidingdetailstoonereporterthatisnotprovidedtoanotheruponrequest.

Compliancewithlawregardingconfiden4ality

Ensureaccurateinforma4onisconveyed,providesupportandassistance,documentstatementsforrecordreten4onandfurtherclarifica4on,ifnecessary.

IliketoknowwhatofficersaresayingincaseIgetques4onsfrommysuperiorsorfromCityHall.Ialsoliketomakesurethereportersaren'ttryingtotaketheinterviewinadifferentdirec4onthanwhattheyrequested.

� 30

Iliketoensurethatouragencyconveysonelikemessage.Thetopicoftheinterviewmayariseagainwithanothermediaoutletandthemessageneedstobethesameevenifthesamepersonisunavailableforthefollowinginterviews.

ToensurethatareporterisnotseRngupanofficerforafailedinterview

Toinsurethatnoinforma4onisreleasedthatmaycompromiseanongoinginves4ga4on

Itdependsonthesitua4on,andtheleveloftrustwiththereporter,butIdothiswhenpersonneldoesn'thavemediatrainingorunderstandtheintricaciesofaninterview.

OurpolicyrequiresthatonlysupervisorsorthosedesignatedbytheChiefareauthorizedtospeakonbehalfoftheagency.From4metoa4me,alineofficerisu4lizedforinterviews.Myreasonformonitoringinterviewsistoprovidesupportandensurethatwearewithinpolicyregula4ons.

PerourpolicyIortheSheriffspeaktothemediabutIhaveenlistedsubjectmaOerexpertsinsomecaseswhenappropriate

RecordinterviewswithStaffmemberstoensurethemessageconveyedbythereportershasnotbeendistorted

dependsontheofficer,butmainlytobeintheknow

toensuretheydon'tprovideinforma4onthatisnotreleasable

Usuallytheywantmethere.Itputsthematease,anditputsmeandtheadministra4onateasetoknowIamtherewiththem.

Toens”urethecorrectin4ma4onisprovidedinaprofessionalmanner.

Ourofficerstendtogointo"cop-speak."Mostdon'twanttobeinvolvedwithreporters

Iden4fyinforma4onneededforfollow-up,learnmoreaboutsubjectmaOerexperts'informa4on,provideclarifica4oniftheinterviewsubjectisn'tfamiliarenoughwithtopic,supportnervousemployees,iden4fyfuturepoten4alPIOs,buildarela4onshipwithreporterandsubjectmaOerexpert.

Toensurethattheinforma4ontobegivenisproperlypresentedsothatthepubliccannotbemisledbyour(dept.)statements

Tohelpofficersfeelmorecomfortableinsitua4onswheretheycannotansweraques4on.Ihavefounditiseasierformetostopthereporterwhentheystartaskingques4onsthatcoulddamageaninves4ga4on.Officerstendtonotbeknowledgeableintheoverallbigpictureofthedepartmentandmypresencecansupplementanswersthattheydon'tknowwhichgivesthereporterabeOeroverallinterview.

MyresponsibilityasaP.I.O.

Makesurereportersstaywithinthepresetboundariesandprovideaddi4onalcontextwhennecessary.

Tobesurethatofficersareadheringtolegalrestric4onsonreleasinginforma4on.

ToprovidetheofficerswithalevelofcomfortthatIamtheretosupportthem,toensurethattheirmessagingisaccurate,toensurethatIamapprisedofthenatureoftheques4onsthatmaynecessitateanyfollow-uponmypart,andtoensurethatthejournalistactsappropriatelyandstayswithintheinterviewguidelinesthatwereagreedupon.

� 31

Itwoulddependontheindividualofficer.Itmaybetheofficerisnewertothedepartmentorsimplythatsomeofficersareverybluntintheredeliveryandwhatandhowtheysaysomethingwhileaccuratecanbetakencompletelyoutofcontext.AndinsomecasestheofficermayhavealotmoreworkingknowledgeofthesubjectmaOerthanIdo.ForinstancewhentalkingaboutK-9opera4ons,thatofficerknowsmoredetailsthanIdoasIhaveneverbeenaK-9officer.Eventhenallofficerstendtogetnervousinfrontofacameraandmaynotsaywhattheymean.IdiditwhenIfirststartedasPIO,butwith4meandexperiencecomescalmandbeOerrelayingofinforma4on.Thatwaytheinforma4onisaccurateandbeOerunderstood.

Tomakesureofficersarenotmisquoted

Toensurethataccurateinforma4onisgiven.Alsotoensurethemediadoesn’taskques4onsinanaOempttogetinforma4onwewouldn’tordinarilysupply.

Theyhavenotrainingandmaysaysomethingthatshouldnotbepublicinforma4onatthe4me.

Incasemyofficerrunsintoaproblem;toactasawitness

Imonitorinterviewstobeawareoftheinforma4ontheintervieweeispuRngoutonbehalfoftheagency,butalsotolimitthedisclosureofconfiden4alorprivilegedinforma4on

Unlesstheyaregivenbytheagencyheadorcommandstaff,toensurethepropermessageisgiventothereporterandpublic

Troopersarenottrainedtodealwiththemedia

� 32

Ques4on21Doesthesystemallowyoutoeasilylocateandseparatepublicinforma4onfromprivateandinves4gatorydocuments?If“par4ally,”pleaseexplain.

Thereareredac4onfunc4onsbutwes4llhavetouseAdobetoensureitisfullyredactedasallowedbyGeorgiaOpenRecordsAct.

Manualtracking

Ifthereareaddi4onaldocumentsaOachedintheoriginalreport.Allpublicrecordsrequestsarehandledbyourrecordsbureau/cityclerk'soffice.NotthePIOforofficialrecords

Someitemsareautoma4callyredactedandsomeitemsmustbedonemanually

Everythingdocumentedbyalawenforcementagencyhasthepoten4altobeconsideredinves4gatory.

Informa4oninourrecordssystemmustberedactedbycomputersoNwareorbyhanddependingonthetypeofrecord.Personaliden4fyinginforma4onisnotautoma4callyredactedeither.

Thereisaredactfeaturelistedbutnotused.

BasedonLouisianapublicrecordlaws,somethingsareobvious(blackandwhite)astowhethertheycanbereleasedpublicly,whileothersareupforinterpreta4on.Ul4mately,IonlyreleasewhatIKNOWtobepublicrecord.Otherwise,IwouldhavethereportermakeanofficialrecordsrequestwhichishandledbyourstaffaOorney,notmeasthePIO.

Is4llhavetousemyownjudgmentorgetadvicefromdetec4vesonwhethercertaininforma4oncan/shouldbereleased.

Ithasredac4onbuiltin,butnotperfect-recordsstaffandIs4llhavetodohandredac4on.WorkingonthiswithsoNwarecompany.

OurRMSgeneratesPDFdocuments.Weuseacombina4onofRMStoolsandPDFredac4ngtoolstoensureonly"righttoknow"informa4onisreleased.

Idon'tknowifIcanaccuratelyexplain.

Formediadistribu4on,Imustredactphonenumbersonreportsandsocialsecuritynumbersanddriverlicensenumbersonwarrants.

WehavepubliccopiesofreportsbutoNenprovideaddi4onalinforma4onuponrequestifitdoesn'tinterferewithaninves4ga4onorviolateconfiden4alityorprivacylaws.

Therearedifferentaccesslevelsintheprogram,sotheinves4gatoryproductisgenerallynotaccessible,butsome4mestoomuchinforma4onisputintheini4alreportwhichisaccessibletothepublic.

Itisincumbentonmyofficetolookatwhatisinves4ga4ve,cleared,expungedorsealed,etc.

Thesystemweusewasoriginallystartedin1993andhashadnumerousupdatesandupgradesovertheyears.Someofthefunc4onsaresome4messketchy.

Mustbeabletodeterminepublicandprivatecopiesofreports.

Ifaninves4ga4oniss4llon-goingIconferwiththedetec4vetoensureeviden4aryinforma4onisnotreleasedifitisincludedintheini4alpolicereport.

� 33

Informa4ononpublicversionsofreportsdiffersslightlydependingonwhichmodulesofthesystemyouuse.Wedohaveaveryuser-friendlypublic-facingmodulethatallowspeopletogetcrashreportsandpubliccasereports.Istronglyencouragedepartmentstogetcrimemapping.comsoresidentscanseewhatcrimetrendsareintheirneighborhood.

Someinforma4ons4llhastoberedactedmanually

Phoneinforma4onispresentonincidentreportsandmustberedactedbeforeforwardingtothemedia.Socialsecuritynumbersanddriver'slicensenumbersarepresentonwarrantsandmustberedactedbeforeforwardingtothemedia.

Ihaveasec4onIcanu4lizethatmostotherscannotaccess.

Icanfindtheinforma4onbutImustredactorlimitwhatisputout

� 34

Ques4on27Doesyourdepartmenthavepolicies(orlaws)regardingreleaseofbodycamerainforma4ontothepublicorthemedia?Ifyes,howdoesthepolicyonthebodycamerafootageaddresspublicaccesstothefootage?Pleasespecify:

Footageisconsideredinves4gatoryinnatureandnotreleasedunderGeorgiaOpenRecordsAct.Oncethecaseisdisposedofthefootageisopentothepublicuponrequest.

FootagefallsundertheOpenRecordsActwhichisveryspecificonwhatisreleasable.

regulatedbyWashingtonstatelaw

451.9BWVFILESREQUEST AgencyContentA.DepartmentalRequests1.Anyrequestshallbecompletedbytheassignedcaseagentwithsupervisorapproval.B.Non-DepartmentalRequests1.AllotherrequestsforaBWVfileshallbeacceptedandprocessedinaccordancewithfederal,state,localstatutesanddepartmentalpolicy(publicrecordsact,etc.)assetforthinDepartmentalPolicy810–RecordsReleaseandSecurity. 2.Mediainquiriesand/orrequestsshallbereceivedandprocessedinaccordancewithDepartmentalPolicy346–MediaRela4ons. 3.AllNon-departmentalrequestsshallbeapprovedbytheChiefofPoliceordesignee.C.RequestforDele4onofAccidentalRecording1.Intheeventofanaccidentalac4va4onoftheBWVwheretheresul4ngrecordingisofnoinves4ga4veoreviden4aryvalue,therecordingemployeemayrequestthattheBWVfilebedeletedbysubmiRnganemailrequestwithsufficientinforma4ontolocatetheBWVfiletotheShiN/DivisionLieutenant.TheShiN/DivisionLieutenantshallreviewthefile,approveordenytherequestandforwardtotheSystemAdministratorforac4on.D.CopyingProcedures1.CopyingofvideosfromEvidence.comwillbedoneonaverylimitedbasis.RequeststosharevideoevidencemadebytheDistrictAOorney’sofficeoralliedagenciesshouldbedoneelectronicallythroughevidence.comunlessaspecialcircumstancearises.Iftherecordingisdownloadedtoadevice/cd,anoteshallbeaOachedtotherecordinginevidence.comsta4ngthepurposeforthedownloadandthesupervisorauthorizingthedownload/copying.

WefollowFloridastatute119andwillcitetheexemp4onifwerefusetoreleaseanyvideo.

Itwillbetreatedthesameascamerafootagethatoriginatedfromavehicle.Releaseduponrequest,unlessit'spartofanongoinginves4ga4onornon-adjudicatedcase.

Wearejuststar4ngintheuseofbodycameras.Ourfootageiskeptfor90daysunlessneededevidenceorotherpurposes.Thepubliccanrequestfootageinthesamemannertheywouldrequestanyotherinforma4onthatisavailabletothepublic.

AccessisgrantedonalimitedbasisasrelatedtoasprefixcasesthatareclearlynotvvuriparO.Ofanac4veandongoinginves4ga4on

sameasdashcamvideosandotherrecords

nopublicaccess

Supervisorreviewtomakesurethefootageisnoteviden4aryinnature

� 35

Followsthestateopenrecordsact

Allfootageisconsideredinves4gatoryinnatureun4lanyandallpendingcourtac4oniscompletedorfootagehasbeendeemednotintegralintheinves4ga4onorfootageisnecessarytoreleaseforthepublic'swelfare.

Anythingthatwouldotherwisebeopentothepublicisnotreleasablesuchasinsideahomeorahospital.

Aslongasthevideoisnotpartofalawsuititisaccessible.

Toolongtolist

Itisreleasablewhentheincidentinves4ga4oniscomplete.

Asanyrecord,onacasebycasebasis,consideringwhetherornotitisconsideredasevidence.

Recentenactedstatelawdoesnotallowforgeneralpublicaccess.

AllrequestsmustgothroughourOpenRecordsUnit.

Itdependsonthecaseandtheinves4ga4on.Nothingisreleasedexternallyun4ltheinternalinves4ga4oniscompleted.

Footageispartofthecriminalinves4ga4onfilesoitisnotpublicinforma4on.

Thesameasanyotherpublicrecord.Allvideoandaudiofallsintothiscategory.Excep4onsarecourtholdsandac4veinves4ga4ons.

PublicRecordsLawofNC

no

Ifthefootagetakenisunderinves4ga4onforacrime,pendingcourtorunderinternalinves4ga4onthepublicwillnothaveaccess.Asweallknowthisisagrayareaacrossthecountry.

Footageisonlyforcourtprocedure.

Regardedasevidenceinthecase.MediamustobtainacourtorderorpermissionfromtheChieftorelease.

I'mnotsureofthepolicyperse.Theyaredeployedinotherunitsofthedepartment.Notmineasofyet.

RequestsforfootageismadethroughRecordsStaffasarecordsrequestandeachisapprovedordeniedbyadivisioncommander.

Currentlynopublicaccess.Footagemaybepartofacriminalinves4ga4on,personnelrecord,orboth.Weareworkingwithlegislatorsforalessrestric4velaws.

ThroughGeorgiaOpenRecords

OpenrecordsrequestisrequiredthroughthecityaOorney'soffice

OPENINVESTIGATIONAREKEPTASEVIDENCEUNLESSDISTRICTATTORNEYALLOWSRELEASE

Footagemustberequestedunderthestate'sopenPublicRecordsAct(OPRA)andmustnotbepartofanongoinginves4ga4on.

Casebycasebasis

� 36

� 37

Ques4on36Whatarethecriteriathattriggerasocialmediapos4ng?Pleasespecify:

Safetyconcerns

Shoo4ngs,majoraccident,weatherrelatedissues,trafficrelatedissues

Fatalcrashes,someofthemoreseriousinjurycrashes

newsworthyorsignificantevents

publicconcern/safety

Anythingthatmaybeofinteresttothepublic

Majorevents,goodPRforthedepartment,newsworthyevents

DangertoofficersorthepublicPublicinforma4onaboutagencyservices

Incidentsrequiringrerou4ngoftraffic,majorcrimes,incidentsthatrepresentathreattothecommunity.

Ifitisusefultothesafetyofthepublic,suchastrafficfatali4es,streetclosures,dangeroussitua4ons.

Anythingthatcouldinformpublictobesafeinasitua4on. Also,anyaccoladesorgooddeedsdonebytheSheriff'sofficeorpersonnel.

Athreattothecommunity,orvideofootageofasuspectwheretheiriden4fyisunknown

Numberonereason-PublicSafety.Whetherisatrafficissue,ac4veshooter,oranyincidentinvolvingpublicsafety,it'sthepriority.Numbertworeason-Educa4on.Suchasascam(IRScallingtosayyouhavetosendmoney),arashofcrime(vehicleburglaries),orgeneralsafetyinfo.

Weknowwhatmakesanincidentnewsworthyinourarea.Thiscouldbebasedonsuspect'sorvic4m'soccupa4on,theloca4onofincident,the"strangeness"ofthecrime,natureofthecrime,arethereoutstandingsuspects?Wealsopostincidentsthatalignwithourcrime-figh4ngini4a4ves:Elderabuse,propertycrime,humantrafficking,etc.

PaOerncrimes,largepublicinterest,etc.Weassessonacase-by-casebasis.

OurCityManagerdoesnotlikearreststobepostedonsocialmedia.Hedoesn'twantthePDtohaveitsownFacebook.Wepostposi4veoremergencyinfoontheCity'sFacebook.ThePDonlypostitspressreleasesonourwebsite.

Importantinforma4on

Incidentsregardingfelonycrimes,trafficalerts,andcommunityoutreachstories

Ifitdirectlybenefitsthesafetyofthepublicisourmaincriteria.

Serousincidentthatcouldleadtoanewsstory,eitherprintorother

Anyinforma4onorstorythattheSherifforhistwoPIOsfeelisofinteresttothepublic.

notablearrestsandincidents;roadclosures;communityevents;officerinterac4onswithpublic

� 38

Significantarrests,majorcrashes,missing/endangeredpersons,solici4ng4psonunsolvedcases,naturalormanmadedisasters/emergencies,notabledepartmentalorindividualemployeeaccomplishments,etc.

Crimesthatinvolvevideoofcriminals

News.Arrestsetc.

Public’srighttoknow

Anythingofpublicinterestispostedtoourwebsite.

Anydangertothepublicsuchaslocalcrimes,scamsetc."Goodnews"storiesaswellascommunityeventsanddailysafety4psbaseduponthe4meofyear;i.e.:Halloween,Winterweather.

Posi4vestory

immediatedanger,requestforinfo

SeverityorPublicaOen4ontothecrime/incident

Needtocommunicateinanexpedientfashionwiththepublic;rumorcontrol,dangertopublic

Arrestsofinterest,PUBLICsafetyorscamissues

Violentcrimesagainstpersons,trends,crimeswithdescrip4veinforma4ononsuspects/vehicles,requests

Publicsafetyconcerns

worthiness public'sinterest informa4on

Ourpressreleasesareautoma4callypostedtosocialmedia.Otherwise,wewouldonlypostincident-basedinforma4onoutsideapressreleaseifthereisanongoingincidentthatcouldbedangeroustothepublicand/oropenlyviewablebythepublic.

nospecificcriteria

dependingonthecrimeandifIstartgeRngcallsfrommedia

Wedonothaveasocialmediaaccount

Wedon'tpostcrimerelatedinfodaily,mostoNenwhenpoliceneedhelpiden4fyingasuspect.Rightnow,thePIOistheonlyoneauthorizedtopostontosocialmedia.Thatwillbechanginginthenextfewmonthsallowingofficersandsupervisorstopost.Theguidelinewillbeanythingofinteresttothepublic,crimepreven4on4ps,on-goingincidentswheretheremaybeadangertothepublic.

Homicide,trafficfatality,missing/endangeredperson,crimespreeortrend,hazardousdrivingcondi4ons,orotherincidentsthatgarnermuchmediaaOen4on

PublicSafety,Traffic,CrimeStopperspos4ngs,

Seriousnessofcrimeandanydangertothepublic'ssafety.

Ifamediareleaseispublished,Iwillu4lizesocialmedia.Roadclosures,inclementweather,etc.

� 39

Someonehasbeeninvolvedinanincidentresul4nginsevereinjuryordeathorsuspectatlargeandseekinginforma4onfromthepublic.

ThePatrolLt.ortheCriminalInves4ga4onsDivisionwantsomethingreleased,theycontactme.

None.

AnythingIreleasetothemediaIalsopostonsocialmedia.

Breakingnews,somethingunusual,orsomethingthatputstheagencyinaposi4velight.

Allpressreleasesarepostedtosocialmedia

Significantevents,mediacontact.

Majorfelonycrimeinvolvinginjury/death;cri4calincidentthatpoten4allyaffectsthesafetyofacommunity.

Theimportanceofthecommunityknowingtheinforma4on,assis4nglawenforcementinves4gateacrimeorincident,andconnec4ngwithourcommunitytoremindthemthatwe'rehumanandmorethanjustabadge,uniformandgun

Anythingbreakingthatdirectlyaffectsthepublic(i.e.trafficclosures),goodpolice/inves4gatorywork,highprofilecrimes(felonies,crimesofviolence),anythingrelatedtoapubliceduca4onini4a4ve(ex.autotheNsinthewinter,duetocarsleNrunningandunaOended),anythingthecommunitymayfindinteres4ng

impacttocommunity

Confirmtheinfo(withaW/C)inthepostisaccuratebeforepos4ng

MajorCrimes,SuspectsatLarge,Missing/EndangeredPersons,HighPriorityCases,etc.

anythingthatmayhaveadirecteffectonthepublic

Majorcrimes,trafficalerts,missingchildren/adults,everydayengagementwithourfollowers.

Incidentsofheightenedinterestoruniqueness

Majorcrimes,public/mediainterest,posi4veinforma4onregardingtheagency/employees.

Impactonpublic

Majorunsolvedcrimes,goodarrests,newini4a4ves,officercommenda4ons,incidents/storiesthatputtheagencyinagoodlightorhaveahighhumaninterestcomponent.

Weknowthepublicwehaveastronginterestinhearingaboutcrisissitua4ons,andsitua4onsthatdealwithhomicide,armedrobbery,etc.

Basedonmydiscre4onorarequestfromadetec4ve

Anythingfromnewstofeatures.

Nosetcriteria

Anythingthatisofimportancetothepublic;wouldcausetrafficconcerns;wouldgeneratemediaaOen4on;isathreattopublicsafety.

� 40

Affectstotrafficflow/roadclosures,concernsforpublicsafety,needingpublic'sassistance,weatherconcerns,humaninterest,communityrela4ons/marke4ng,

Informa4onispassedthroughtoourheadquarters.Theymakethedecision.

seriousness

publicsafety,calendarevents

OurFBistypicallyfor"goodnewsstories",trafficalerts,missingpersons,orincidentupdates.TwiOerisusedfortrafficalertsandreal4meupdatesonac4veincidents.OccasionallyIwillpostapressreleaseonbothifappropriate.

Majoreventoranythingthatmayimpacttraffic

Dangerstothepublicorsuspectarrests.

Ifweareaskingforthepublic'shelptoiden4fyasuspectorsuspectvehiclecapturedonsurveillancecamera.

Arrests&communityevents,mostly

FederalLegalRequirements

Publicsafetyconcernsorendangerment,helpiniden4fyingsuspects,roadclosures,evacua4ons,etc.

Typeofevent.Scopeoftheevent.Timeofday.

Anythingthatisnewsworthyoracommunityawarenessissue

Ci4zensafety,dispellingrumors

Notpossibleinasimpleanswerbox,butimmediacyisdeterminedbywhetherwearelookingforasuspect,roadsareclosed,orasitua4onisoccurringinaverypublicloca4on.Otherwisewepostinforma4ononincidentsorarreststhathavealesspressingnatureastheinves4ga4ontakesitscourse,usuallywithinthefirsthourorso.

safetyissues,publicinterest,majorcases,publicno4fica4on

PublicSafetythreatisaprimarycriteria.SecondarycriteriaisanyreleasethatisprovidedtothemediaisgenerallypostedonofficialagencyFBpage.

Whateverwedeemappropriate.

Onmajorincidentsandeventsofcommunityinterestorconcern

Roadclosures,highprofilearrest,fastmovingeventthathastriggeredaOen4on.

nosetcriteriabuttypicallyifwethinkit'sinforma4onthepublicwants/needs

Somethinginteres4ng;acourtcasethatavarietyofmediaoutletsarefollowing.

Urgencytotheneedsoftheagencyand/orthepublic,suchasmissingpersons,etc.

Felonycasesordeadlytrafficcrash

Thecommunityimpactbytheincident.

� 41

PublicSafety,PublicInterest,SignificantIncident,RoadClosures,SpecialInstruc4ons,Loca4onofmissingperson,witnesses,evidence,etc...

Emergencyinforma4on,threattopublic,publicsafety.Incidentsinremoteareasofthestateareslowertobepostedonsocialmedia,butassoonasthePIOlearnstheinfo,itcangoonsocialmedia.

Wehavenosocialmediapresence

Allnewsreleasesareposted.

AllofourcontentmustbeveOedbyoursoleclientpriortopos4ng.Thereisasignificantlag4mebecauseofthis.

Publicconcernandsafety.

Current,newsworthy,ci4zensafety

Aseriouspartoneoffenseorothercrime/incidentthatdirectlyaffectsthepublicorthatwearereceivingmanyinquiriesabout.

Changesbasedonthesitua4on.

Thenatureoftheincident,anypossible"hold-back"orconcernsaboutreleasinginforma4onabouttheinves4ga4on,andwhatthecurrent'state'ofsocialmediais.

Armedsuspectinanarea,missingperson,dangerouscondi4onssuchastrafficorweather

Threattopublicsafety,Theneedtogetinforma4onout,toreducetheriskofrumorsormissinforma4on

SUSPECTIMAGE,LOSTORMISSINGPERSONS,CRIMESPREE,PUBLICSAFETYANNOUNCEMENTS

Dangeroussitua4onsandsuspectarrests.

SeverityorDegreeofthecrime

Anythingthatwefeelisnewsworthydependingontheday.

Lookingforsuspects,drugarrests,majorcollisions,

dependsonthenatureoftheincidentorevent

Asdeterminedbymeandoursocialmediateam.Thevalueoftheinforma4ontothepublic.

roadclosings

� 42

Ques4on39HowhasthenatureofyourmediaquerieschangedsinceyoustartedpuRnginforma4onoutonsocialmedia?Pleasespecify.

Hasremainedthesameorincreased.

Yes...theofficersthinktheyneedtoposteverythingwhichcanbeaproblemiftheydon'ttellthePIO

morespecificinforma4on

Mediasome4mescallswan4ngmoreinforma4onforastorywe'vepostedonsocialmedia

Wegetmoretoaskmorespecificsonwhatwewerelimitedto140characters

Ouragencyisnewtosocialmedia.Ithasn'treducedmostofthetradi4onalmediacontactsasofthis4me.

Privateci4zensoNenno4fythemediathroughsocialmediawebsitesofincidentsthatareoccurring,orhavejustoccurred.IoNengetmediainquiriesabouteventsIhaven'tyetevenbeentoldaboutbymyagency.

Mediawouldtohaveinforma4oninamore4melymanner,whichsome4mesisunrealis4c.

Morepeopleareconcernedabouthowthedepartmentisbeingmanagedandhowpersonnelaredoing.

Ithasincreasedthenumberofcontactsdrama4cally.Theyseethestoryonsocialmediaandcontactmeforfurtherinforma4on.

It'sprimaryanecdotally,butsincewestartedpos4ngonsocialmedia(primarilyFBandTwiOer),therehasbeenabitlesscontactfrommedia.However,what'sinteres4ngisthatIwillpostsomethingonFBthatIdidn'tnecessarilydeemworthyofanewsrelease,andthemediapickitupanduseaccordingly.Example:Wehadalargehorsegetstuckinthepond.ThiswasaLARGEhorse,andourdepu4esandfirefighterswereonscenegeRngthehorseout.Adeputysentmeafewphotos,andIplacedthemonFBwithcutlineinfo,butdidnotsendanewsrelease.NextthingIknow,IseeitonTVandevengetacallfromahorsemagazineinthenortheast(remember,weareinLouisiana)askingtointerviewthedeputy.Allgoodstuff.Similarthingregardingthe4meourdepu4esremovedanalligatorfromawoman'sresidence.

Some4mesthenewsrooms/reportersdidnotknowaboutanincidentun4lIposteditonsocialmedia.ANerit'sposted,theywillaskmeforchargingdocuments.

Wegetalotmoreposi4venewscoverageandspendless4meansweringthesameques4onsrepeatedly.Wecandirectallmediatothesamesource.

Ithashelpedwithemergencyinforma4onposts

Morefrequent

Veryrarelygetcalledforaddi4onalinforma4on

Ithasincreasedourmediarequest.Ithasalsoincreasedoursocialmediafollowing.

Thereismuchmoreconversa4onandmuchlessfactfinding

Notmuchno4ceablechange.

morerequestsbasedoninforma4onthatisposted

Haschangedatall

� 43

Decreasedthenumberofques4ons

Reportersuseasstoryideas

Idonotpostonsocialmediaotherthanourwebsite.

Bothmyposi4onasthePIOandthedept.’ssocialmediaaccountwerecreatedatthesame4me.

Lesscalls

aboutthesame

Increasedrequestforvisuals

Moreon-camerainterviews

JournalistshaveabeOerbasisinwhichtoasktheirques4ons.Wealsogetfewer"hey,gotanythinggoingontoday"ques4ons

notsure

Thebestsitua4onIcanpointtoisthatreporterstendtoobtaintheirnews4psfromsocialmediapos4ngs.WehavelocalresidentswhoformFacebookgroups,forexample,inwhichtheysimplypostthingsheardoverthescannerorsaythey"saw4policecarsheadingnorthon__Street...anyoneknowwhat'sgoingon?"Reportersseethesepostsandittriggersacalltome.

nochange

mediaalwayswantsmoreinforma4onandcallsforitaNersendingoutapressreleaseviasocialmedia

N/A

Notmuchyet.I'mguessingwhenwehaveotherofficerspos4ng,thequerieswillincrease.

Ifsomethingisvery4mesensi4ve,ItellmediatowatchourTwiOer/Facebookforupdatesratherthanwai4ngonnewsreleaseswhichtakelongertoprepareandsend.

None

Theywantmoredetails.

Weonlybeganusingsocialmedia3weeksago

Thereismore"justseekingclarifica4on"inquiriesthanlengthyrequests.

Itseemseasierforthemediatomonitorwhatisputout.Iftheyseesomethingthatisinteres4ng,theycontactus.

N/A

Some4mesthemediatakeswhatweputonsocialmediaandmakesitastoryline.

Nochange,s4llcall.

TheyhavejustcalledmoreoNen

WegetcontactedtoprovideoncameraappearanceorradiointerviewsprobablymoreoNen.

� 44

Socialmediahasacceleratedthemediainquiryprocess.

Ontheonehand,itcutsdownonthenumberofinquiriesini4allybecauseweputoutinforma4onimmediatelytoeveryone,butontheotherhand,theys4llhavefollowupqueries.

WhateverIputoutonoursocialmediaoutletstypicallypromptsarequestforanoncamerafromthelocaltelevisionsta4ons.ONen,localmediawillcoverinforma4onthatIputout,withoutevercontac4ngme,justbasedonthecontentofourblog.

demandforquickerresponseregardingdetails

Mostdirectcontactistoaskforaquoteabouttheincident

Usuallygeneratesmoreinquiries.Theyseethepostthencallwithques4ons.

unknown

Sincewe'vestartedusingsocialmedia,phonecallsfromthemediaonminorevents(exampletrafficcrashes)aredownbecausebasicinforma4ontheyarelookingforisalreadyonsocialmedia.

VeryliOleoverall

Moreinquiriesregardingposi4vestories

AnecdotallyIthinktherehaslikelybeenanincreaseinmediaresponseandanincreaseinmediamonitoringofoursocialmedia

N?A

Reducedbecausetheygetalotofinfobasedonthepost

LiOlehaschanged.

Justreques4ngaddi4onalinforma4onusually

Werarelyhearfromreportersunlessit'sabigbreakingnewsstorywithacrimescene;otherwise,theyjustusethephotosandvideoswepostonoursocialmedia.

ONensocialmediapos4ngsresultinmoreinterestinmedia.Some4mestheyjustshareourinforma4on,other4mes,itcatchestheireyeanditbecomesastory.

Unknown

Requestshaveincreased

Itisagoodwaytostreamlineinfogoingoutsothatincomingcallsarereduced.TwiOerespeciallyhasbeenhelpfultoletreportersknowIamenroutetoasceneortoalerttotrafficissuessuchasroadclosures.

Therehasbeenanincrease....especiallywhensomethingofinterestisposted.

Morenonreporterscallingwithques4ons

Morerequestsforfollow-upinforma4on.

Iusuallysendanewsreleaseoutatthesame4measpos4ngtosocialmediaunlessit'satrafficaccidentwherewewanttoletpeopleknowabouttrafficproblemsbutdon'thavealltheaccidentreportinforma4onyet.

� 45

Notmuch

Moreinquiresviasocialmediasitesandviaemail.

Moreinforma4ontoinquireaboutorfollowupwithstoriesandinterviews.Morerequestfromthepublicseekingaddi4onalinforma4onandpublicsafetyadvice.

Weareabletosharemoreinforma4onthatwouldnothaveotherwisebeensharedintradi4onalmedia.Tradi4onalmediamonitorsourSMaccountsandbuildsstoriesfromthem.Wehavebecomemoreproac4ve.

Increasedduetothefactlocalnewshasincreaseddrama4cally.Localeveningnewstendstobeatleast2-3hourswithteasersandmediaisconstantlycallingforstories

Idon'tbelieveithaschanged.Inaddi4ontopos4ngtosocialmedia,weprovideaddi4onalinforma4onincludingincidentreports/arrestaffidavitsandvideolinkstothemediaviaanemailblasttoourmedialist,sotheyhaveeverythingtheyshouldneedwithoutasking.

OnceIputsomethingnewsworthyonoursocialmediaaccounts,Icanexpectacallwithinafewminutes.Mostreporterswatchourfeedsandrespondimmediatelytothemwithoutbeingassignedthestoryfromtheiroffice

Moreinquiriesdirectlyfromthepublic.Alsoreporterscontac4ngwithlimitedinforma4onbasedonrumor,conjectureorpercep4onofwhatsomeoneelsesawonFacebook.

Aboutthesame,theyjustseekmoredetails.

Ithasincreasedsignificantly

Querieshavechangedbutnotbasedonoursocialmediapos4ngsbutother"groups"onsocialmediathatdon'ttypicallygettheinforma4oncorrectbutnewsmediausethesegroupsas"4psters"

mediascansoursocialmediaaccountsforpoten4alstoriesthencontactsus

Ithasn'tchangedmuch.

Itreallyhasnotchangedmuch.Reporterss4llwantaddi4onalinforma4on,andaskques4onsthatarenotansweredinthemediarelease.

Generallyalwaysgetaddi4onalques4ons.Believeachecktoseeifweincludedallinforma4on.Themediahastoaskatleastoneques4on!

None,themedias4llprefersthepersonalcontact.

Wehavemoreposi4vestoriesgeneratedfromsocialmediapos4ngs.

Tweetsbothincreaseanddecreasethenumberofcontacts.AtweetwilloNencauseanimmediaterushofdirectphonecalls.Butmany4mes,tweetsingeneraldecreasethenumberofcallsover4measouragencyprovidesmoreinforma4onviasocialmedia.

Nosocialmediapresence

Socialmediapostshavespurredsomestoryinterest.

Askingforclarifica4onand/ormoreinfooftheincidentorevent.

Manyareguidedbyourtweetsandposts.Wecreatethestoryinalotofcases.

� 46

MajoreventscansparkNa4onalaOen4on.

Moreinquiriesbasedontheinforma4onalreadybeighuthere.

Theyarelessfrequentandthosequeriesnotaskingformoreinforma4on,aregenerallyaskingforenhancedsocialmediapla|orms(e.g.touseanInstagram,SoundCloud,etc.)

UsuallygetarequestadayaNerthepostismadeforinterviews

Quicklygetsinforma4ontomedia.Responsefromthemediaislargelyposi4ve

WITHINMINUTESOFCERTAINPOSTS,MEDIAOUTLETSCALLFORMOREINFORMATIONORON-CANERAINTERVIEWS

Mediarequestsincludemorein-depthfollow-upinforma4on.

Donotknow

Lotsofinforma4onflowoutresul4nginincreasedinquiriesincoming.

Mediawatchessocialmediaandthencontactsusforfurtherinforma4onifneeded

Lessenedthenumberofreporterswhoaskfortheinforma4on.Thetrafficdistancelimitsthosewhoaskforoncamerasoundbites

Theygettheini4alheadsuponasitua4onwe'reworkingbutitdoesn'tslowdownthenumberoffollowupinquiriestodeterminevic4minforma4onsuspectinforma4onetc.

police pios survey report - spj

Documents