[Scan-DC] Emergency personnel advise against publishing scanner traffic

[Alan Henney]

>From our good friend and colleague, John Nash:


http://www.mrt.com/news/crime/article_3c17826a-c376-11e3-91d1-0019bb2963f4.html


Emergency personnel advise against publishing scanner traffic

By Tyler White | twhite at mrt.com | Posted: Sunday, April 13, 2014 8:43 pm

The frequent chiming of multi-pitched police scanner tones provides the soundtrack for many newsrooms across the country.

Dispatchers relay 911 calls and complaints to law enforcement and emergency personnel, while journalists hustle out the door to a crash, fire or shooting. But often, emergency personnel beat journalists to the scene and discover the situation isn’t what was relayed on the scanner.   

Police scanners provide useful information for breaking news coverage, but possessing the scanner is a privilege that law enforcement grants to the media.

Midland-Odessa television stations have been known to use information obtained through police scanner traffic in their breaking news coverage and in online reports.

National news organizations sourced such traffic following the Boston Marathon bombings that occurred a year ago Tuesday. The FBI and the Boston Police Department urged news organizations to stop using this information because of the potential for compromising the investigation and putting law enforcement at risk.

Scanner reports often are not checked for accuracy and not confirmed, because the information usually is obtained before officials have arrived on the scene, according to Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter and other law enforcement officials.

The Reporter-Telegram’s has a policy against publishing  local scanner reports.

“At one time, the Reporter-Telegram was one of the biggest offenders, but this is information that has not been confirmed by law enforcement authorities or journalists, which is why we stopped using scanner reports online and in the newspaper,” said Editor Stewart Doreen.

Local officials said citing scanner traffic is a potentially dangerous use of privileged information.

The ethical dilemma

Two days after the Boston bombings, several news organizations erroneously reported that an arrest had been made. The FBI released a statement the same day advising reporters to “exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.”

Some of that information was coming from police scanner traffic.

The Boston Globe reported that Broadcastify.com, a San Antonio-based company providing live audio streams of police and public safety radio traffic, had about 160,000 people listening to Boston police scanner feeds following the terrorist attack.

But Lindsay Blanton, the website’s chief executive officer, said the company made a decision to pull the feeds for Boston-area police departments after the Boston Police Department posted the following tweet at 7:52 a.m. on April 19:

“#MediaAlert: WARNING: Do Not Compromise Officer Safety by Broadcasting Tactical Positions of Homes Being Searched.”

The nonprofit Poynter Institute, which promotes “excellence and integrity” in journalism,” offered its opinion about the use of scanner traffic. In an April 2013 article, Kelly McBride, a senior faculty member at Poynter, said police scanners facilitate better reporting, but most responsible journalists don’t report as fact what they hear on the scanner.

“‘You are literally hearing snippets of conversation, and it’s out of context. It’s almost impossible in a short amount of time to figure out what the entire context is,’” McBride wrote.

She said reporters are also likely to hear warnings or alerts that can be easily misunderstood.

In another article, Poynter reported that a former Reuters’ deputy social media editor, Matthew Keys, was fired following the Boston attacks. Keys wrote in a Tumblr post that Reuters terminated his employment for several reasons, one of which was tweeting information he had obtained through police scanner traffic during the Boston bombings investigation.

Keys claimed in an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review that he was unaware of any requests by law enforcement to refrain from that activity, despite BPD’s media alert via Twitter.

The effect on local law enforcement, emergency personnel

Broadcast of scanner traffic could have led to a local man evading arrest in October of last year.

Midland County SWAT and U.S. Marshals Service were attempting to serve a warrant to 37-year-old Joseph Caddell in the 5400 block of East County Road 75. Authorities engaged in a several-hour standoff at a building where they believed Caddell had barricaded himself. They deployed tear gas and breached the property, but Caddell was not there, according to previous Reporter-Telegram reports.

Painter said a friend notified Caddell about his impending arrest after hearing information about it on a police scanner. Painter believes this contributed to Caddell evading arrest. He eventually surrendered to authorities in Erath County.

While no news organizations directly sourced scanner traffic during this incident, Painter said it’s common for news stations to post scanner traffic on Facebook.

One local television station posted details of the standoff location, which Painter said complicated the investigation. He said Facebook postings and social media chatter also can pose a risk to his employees.

If people are alerted by social media and scanner traffic, they can anticipate police presence by arming themselves, taking hostages or creating other obstacles to an arrest, said Ector County Sheriff Mark Donaldson.

“I think it can get an officer hurt or killed if the wrong information is broadcast or put out,” Painter said. “(Suspects) can be prepared and we’re not. That puts us severely at a disadvantage.”

Under certain circumstances, Painter said he would pursue criminal aiding and abetting charges against people or news organizations that contributed to an officer being injured or a case being compromised.

Donaldson agreed it could hinder ongoing investigations, especially when officers are serving a warrant.

Suspects who are tipped off can destroy or hide evidence, compromising drug busts and evidence seizures, he said.

“(Officers are) fixing to surprise somebody and guess what? It’s not a surprise,” Donaldson said.

He said some news outlets have posted live updates on Twitter or Facebook that detail areas with a large police presence. The Reporter-Telegram does the same, but it is general practice to speak with officials at the scene before releasing details.

Local news sources have also published scanner traffic before confirming details.

One such scenario occurred on Sept. 21, when a small aircraft slid off a runway at Midland International Airport. The plane’s two occupants were not injured. Information regarding the plane was relayed over police radios, and the city’s public information officer called it an “incident.” But a pair of television stations reported the incident as a “crash.”

Like “the boy who cried wolf,” Painter said this type of news coverage can incite panic in the general public and create additional problems.

Midland Fire Chief Robert Isbell agreed.

He encountered problems associated with scanner traffic while working in the Dallas area. Isbell recalled people driving by scenes of accidents and fires to take photographs and upload them to the web, creating a “social fever” and “information frenzy.”  

Donaldson said use of scanner traffic increases call volume for 911 dispatch centers. Concerned residents and news outlets -- the Reporter-Telegram included -- have called dispatchers for updates on wrecks, fires and shootings at times when information is scarce. This impacts work efficiency and slows response times for emergency personnel. Often, people drive by the scene, causing issues for first responders.

Sharlett Chowning, chief information officer for the Midland Public Safety Communications Center, said the only information that 911 dispatchers know is what they are told by the callers.

“We dispatch based on a phone call,” Chowning said. “We don’t verify the truthfulness of that phone call.”