| Chapter 1
The
Crime Beat
By
Dave Krajicek
Enterprise
Most beat reporters are expected to produce daily, weekend and long-term
stories, but crime reporters frequently face more everyday breaking
news pressures than those covering other beats do.
At many news operations, crime reporters have a legitimate complaint
that much of their time is consumed by seemingly piddling pursuits
– crime briefs, the blotter, by-rote phone calls to small
police agencies that may not admit to a news event even if they
had one.
Inevitably, the pressure to produce will create conflicts with a
crime reporter's editor or news director, who are expected to manage
and monitor their personnel. Remember that your boss has a boss
who will ask for updates on your various projects.
The search for story ideas is an evergreen topic on the CJJ discussion
list. Editors are likely to offer enterprise ideas for idle reporters.
Most beat reporters would rather devise their own ideas. Here are
a few tips:
- Write it down. Use the last page of your notebook to jot
down enterprise story ideas as they come to you. Good ideas can
get lost if you fail to write them down.
- Consider profiles of interesting or engaging characters on
your beat. Keep a list of possibilities.
- Ask around. Survey reliable sources (including those from
your "board of directors") for suggestions on undiscovered
stories on your beat.
- Localize. Keep abreast of what other journalists are doing
in the realm of crime reporting enterprise. Can a successful project
in Omaha or Seattle be replicated in or adapted to your town?
- Think ahead. Be ready with three alternatives when an editor
gives you an ill-conceived story idea.
- Traditionally, crime coverage has been reactive – listen
to a scanner, discover a crime, cover it. Just as police agencies
have converted to proactive strategies, news operations can be proactive
about crime coverage by analyzing rather than merely reacting. Enterprise
stories can evaluate how effectively your agency has responded to
a particular problem – gang violence, for example. Are other
agencies elsewhere more effective? Why?
- Don't blame the boss. Journalists sometimes cite an editor's
inadequacies to explain their own inferior work. If you believe
a boss is holding you back, move on.
Money and Numbers
"Follow the buck."
This journalism adage is pertinent to every beat. Yet the police
budget (or, in most cities, the joint police-fire "public safety"
budget) often is orphaned. Your city government reporter likely
covers the overall budget, and the public safety portion might rate
a few graphs.
The crime beat reporter should scrutinize the budget and consider
a sidebar. The budget often contains tips on new initiatives or
patrol strategies – an increase in computerization costs for
a new crime-mapping program, for example, or a balloon in equipment
costs for a new line of patrol vehicles or a special-use armored
truck. Personnel costs and even buildings-and-grounds budget lines
can lead to stories.
Crime Statistics
Stay abreast of local crime numbers. Ask your agency for monthly
or quarterly updates if it customarily releases only annual statistics.
Every crime reporter should be familiar with the two forms of national
crime statistics: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, based on numbers
provided by local law enforcers, and the U.S. Justice Department's
crime victimization numbers, based on a survey of the public.
For more details, the publication "Understanding Crime Statistics"
is available through the web sites of both CJJ
and IRE.
Get to know your agency's statistical guru, but be prepared with
outside-source reality check analysis on the numbers your agency
provides.
Be Prepared
Keep an emergency bag in your trunk, especially if you are frequently
called on to cover breaking police and fire news.
A well-packed trunk might include a flashlight, road emergency
light, rain gear, an orange safety vest, drinking water and a snack,
spare pens and notebooks, spare batteries for flashlight and tape
recorders, boots, gloves, blanket, a hat, a change of clothing and
coat. A few reporters carry war-zone gear, including a flak jacket,
helmet and a garment bolded marked MEDIA.
Reporters with a reputation for being ready to move quickly often
draw plum assignments to cover breaking news out of town or out
of country. Some journalists are not fond of these "parachute"
assignments. If you are, let your editors know, and keep a travel
bag ready. It might include a passport, emergency source Rolodex,
toiletries and two changes of clothes.
Twelve Questions
The special constraints and time pressures of collecting information
at breaking news events can challenge even veteran reporters. Phone
interviews with busy cops or emergency response authorities also
can be unnerving. Even press conferences or one-on-one interviews
can undo some of us.
Some journalists find it helpful to have a simple reference guide
on hand. Consider preparing a dozen boilerplate questions for various
reporting scenarios – a fire, homicide, drive-by shooting,
gang violence, a crime trend piece, a law enforcement initiative
press conference, a police union job action.
On the back pages of a permanent notebook (or in your Palm Pilot),
keep a checklist of the essential information at these various events.
Of course, begin with journalism's oracle questions: who, what,
when, where, why and how. Get beyond those questions with inquiries
about motivations and circumstances. They might include:
- Suspect and victim bios
- How the two came together
- Careful description of scene or venue
- Unusual circumstances
- Witness details
- Motives and motivations
- Financial aspects
- Credit or blame
- Moral considerations
- Context
- Projected effect
- Long-term implications
Writing the Story
Consider three simple questions when writing a crime story:
- What is the most interesting aspect of the story?
- What is the most important aspect of the story?
- Are the two related?
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