Crime Reporter Addresses Trainees At Police Schoo.

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28385, 18 September 1957, Page 14

Crime Reporter Addresses Trainees At Police Schoo.

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 17. Mr H. J. Wilson, Who lias been the crime reporter on an Auckland newspaper for 37 years, today told trainees at the Police School at Trentham that there were many ways the press could help the police to solve crimes.

The principal complaint of the press had been, that information was withheld bjr the police till it lost its "news value.” The situation was now resolving into one where the police were releasing the maximum amount of information to the representatives of responsible newspapers. The police made use of the press for many purposes, he said. A photograph and a description of a prison escaper could turn thousands ot readers into would-be detectives.

Mr Wilson, suggested that the police co-ordinate more of its releases on a national scale. “Whether we like it or not, police work is bound up with newspapers,” he said. Instruction on the powers of reporters at accidents, fires and other occurrences should be included in police training, he said.

Until Mr S. T. Barnett took over at the head of the force, the relationship between the press and the police was often uneasy and loose. The attitude of officers varied considerably in their dealings with newspapermen. In Auckland, Mr Wilson said, a press conference was now held with the police each morning, when a senior officer had to decide how much to release on an undetected crime and how much to tell reporters in confidence. Mr Wilson said crime reporting was a fascinating branch ,of the profession of journalism). It was one of the most interesting jobs in the world.

Introducing Mr Wilson, the Controller-General of Police (Mr Barnett) said the address had been arranged to give the trainees an idea of the benefits of good relations between the police and the press. Every policeman should understand the function of the press to tell the people what was happening. Basically, the function of the press was the same as the police—to serve the public interest. The two services could help each cither.'