Police and media

There has always been a love hate relationship between the Police and the Media. There have also been instances where mediamen had been subjected to physical assault by the khakied gentry during the course of their duties and also where top officers have taken umbrage over certain media reports.

By and large however Police -media relations have remained cordial for the larger part despite occasional abberations with both sides acknowledging their need of each other, professionally speaking.

Most police officers will be the first to admit the debt they owe to the media for bringing to light certain matters that has led to major breakthroughs. Equally most media personnel particularly the crime reporters could not have become famous names if not for the support and cooperation extended by their contacts in the Police Department.

It is in this light that we welcome the assurance given by the new IGP Jayantha Wickremaratne that his Department would make every endeavour to build a good rapport with the media and forge a harmonious relationship with the Fourth Estate. The appointment of a Police media spokesman, who has already built a fine relationship with scribes, is a welcome step.

The IGP is not unmindful of the important role played by the media in facilitating the work of the police. More often than not it is press reports that have led to important arrests and busting of criminal gangs and vice rings.

There is no denial that the career advancement of most police officers such as promotions and upgrading of rank was occasioned by the reporting of their deeds in the press. However there are certain high ranking officers who resent journalists and consider them intruders into their duties.

Sometimes they respond in a brash and abrasive manner to journalists’ questions and are often abrupt to probing queries. True, sensitive information cannot be released during certain investigations, but such officers should be mindful to treat journalists with respect not knowing when they would need the services of the other.

There were times in a bygone era where crime reporters accompanied police teams on their missions and featured prominently in the records famous criminal cases. This was a vintage where police officers and journalists socialised in the open and it was not unusual to see a crime reporter in the company of a top cop in city watering holes.

Editors too encouraged such bonhomie knowing the value of such contacts from a professional point of view while policemen too benefitted in the form of excellent write ups of their deeds.

Most of the big names in the Police Department of whom a lot is written these days came to the limelight and earned their stripes through the exposure given them in the press. Times though have changed and we doubt if such camaraderie between the police and the Fourth Estate is on the same footing as in those spacious days.

For one thing, the challenges confronting the Police Department are of a different kind today leaving no room for relaxed conviviality. There are also the restraints imposed on policemen precluding them from being too free with the journalistic tribe.

Nevertheless the Police-Media relations still continue even though not on the same intimate levels as before. Both sides know that they cannot do without each other. If not for the media reportage most policemen would not even have been in the reckoning for awards presented for bravery and gallantry.

In these days when Police Public relations have assumed vital importance it the press which could facilitate such communication. The new IGP who has always been a friend of the media is no doubt well aware of the immense advantages of cultivating members of the Fourth Estate.

Hence his desire for a revisit of the status quo when the police and media functioned as a single team.