PUBLICITY AND CRIME.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 65, 17 March 1911, Page 6

PUBLICITY AND CRIME.

EDITORS' OPINIONS;

The following- conclude the, list of editorial opinions received by t"e Newspaper Proprietors' ;> - Association: in regard to the suggestion that publicity was a cause of crime:—

No doubt there is much truth in the charge that the news of one suicide, being published, may lead to others, by influencing weak-minded and overimpressic.nable people. These have so little stability that if an idea is presented to them often enough they are apt to act upon it like the victims of the hypnotist. Dr. Alexander is probably right toexcise suicide cases;from tho newspapers sent in to his patients*. Ho should also excise murders and violent assaults.

But yoa can't run a newspaper for mental'weaklings. You must study the mass; and the mass is sane. Now, in the interest of the King's lieges it is highly desirable that when one of them is found dead, the others, by their proper agenfcb, should inquire into the circumstances, .and deliver a verdict; for which they take the responsibility. And to' give that verdict its full value it is necessary that it be published in the newspapers. If A.B. is found with his brains blown out, we want the coroner and twelve of A.B.s peersl to see the body, and hear what evidence can bo got, so that they may judge whether A.B. was murdered or committed suicide.

As a check upon the honesty and the reasonableness of the verdict, wo want the newspapers' records' of the proceedings, obtained through their trained reporters, and commented upon v by their tnained editors. (1 may add that if all this is needed for tho safety of the sane subject, it is not superfluous for the poor lunatic in his asylum prison, sequestered from the eyes of his fellow men. For he may stand between some sane /nan &nd the possession of property). If then, for the safety of the people, we cannot afford to discard the shield of publicity, the question arises of "the details.?' Tho first thing that suggests itself is that this expression wants defining. It is as necessary thiat tho newspapers should publish the facto as- that the coroner and the jury should elicit then*. And any one of th«:series of facts may be, of supreme importance to "the judging, it may riot be pleasant for the witness to say that when he found' A.B. the blood' was still dripping from, A.B.s skull, and the responsible editor might wish that he could omit this and other such details, but he would know very well that he would fail in Ms duty td society if ho did omit them —and in they would go. I think that Sharland's Trade Journal and Dr. Alexander hardly know when they are well off. The Now Zealand Press, on the whole, has always been a model in its careful and. accurate reports of grave crimes ■and their trials, and in the equal sense of responsibility which has inspired its comments upon them. It has done its duty by giving the facts, and done its duty, too, by abstaining from repeating them and enlarging upon them. It will bo noted' that it was in America that a Medical Association deprecated publicity. I believe chat, in New Zealand we ©an,- -upon this point, safely rely upon the wisdom and good tasto of those responsible for the conduct of our daily papers. A. H. BRISTED, Editor The Weekly Press.

Re publication of news matter relating to suicides, and the views of Dr. Alexander thereon, which you have forwarded for perusal and comment. ' :, ,

My view is that a newspaper exists primarily for the publication, and not for the suppression, of news. Many persons think otherwise, and' in regard to phases of life, which have come under their immediate observation, insist that the public interest best served, by suppressing information bearing thereon. In this way, editors of newspapers are asked to refrain from publishing matter, other than condemnatory, of horse-racing, pigeon-shooting, pugilism, and various other sports; they are asked to make no mention of details disclosed during the hearings of petition® for divorce .on the ground of misconduct, of evidence in cases of sexual crime, of applications for maintenance, orders against the fathers of illegitimates, etc. They e-rc further warned.-that the publication of reports of murders incite ethers to take human life; that an account of a successful coup planned by a daring criminal results in an epidemic of crime, and that the suggestion of suicia'e is sufficient to inspire others with a desire to take, their own lives. All these matters have been very carefully consider ad from time to time; also the probability that a paper bowdlerised so as to ba innocuous would not be read by | the very people who take exception j to the publication of what they allege is obj&^tionable matter. I F-tt there is another side of the question which is frequently overlooked. Even if harm does result from the publication of news (which, by the way, might be loss than the harm done by the exaggerated rumors which the public would hear by word , of mouth in the absence of plain state- j ments of fact in a newspaper), it must ; be remembered that there is a very j substantial credit to place opposite I the debit. It is the practice of all -j newspapers to publish acts of virtue j as well as a. record of wrong-doing and ' misadventure. It is fair to assume ; : therefore, that a spirit of emulation is excited by the intimation that some person has performed a great act of philanthropy, benevolence, heroism, or has displayed great public spirit. j My own opinion is that a paper best serves the public interest by publish- , ing all the news all the time, and that, although in particular oases, this may : prejudicially affect individuals, that is £ trifling matter compared with the ! abuses that would be liable to creep in ' under any organised system of news suppression. ' Nor is Dr. Alexander's suggestion nractioable. The circumstances of each suicide must be taken into consideration. It might be a small thing to Suicides to avoid arrest for betraying hVan. St'inclined to think, therefore that if Dr. Alexander really- understood all that his request involves, he would not have mactei^ | Editor of The Evening News. j

Your favor of tho 26th inst., referring to the reporting of suicides, opens up a Question that I think more particularly' applies to city news- : papers. Suicide in the country is a j thing of exceptional occurrence, and I have never heard of an epidemic of country suicides owing to publicity ■ being g«eu to one. As far as I can

recollect there were only two suicides in this locality during last year, and nothing would have been gained by suppressing publication of details. It would appeal that country people are not so liable to the power of suggestion outlined by Dr. Alexander. My cxpoiioncfc ml city reporting has been that each case hao had its own sad set of circumstances. I cannot recall one of where a* person was prompted to take his life' ■ owing to what he had read in newspapers. Of course, it is quite possible that the publication of morbid details may have an unconscious influence on the mind of a person contemplating suicide. I think, however, it is only persons with a kink in their mental calibre who would ba influenced in that way. It is to be remembered that the publication of details, in some cases shows what an awful thing suicide is, aiJ.3 the pain it causes. As I said before, tho question does not materially affect country newspapers, and1 eases of suicide through suggestion can only be regarded as isolated instances. AItCH. McNICOL, Managing Director Dannevirke Evening News. ,

In reply to your circular of January 26th, I have to say that for some time past the medical men of this city have been pressing on me, exactly the same views as Dr. Alexander put forward in his circular letter. Moreover, during the term of my official connection with the mental hospitals in Dunodin, protest was frequently made to me by Drs. Truby King, Tizard, and Dr.. Alexander's father (during the latter's lifetime) that the publication of the details of suicide cases was harmful to the recovery of .lunacy patients. My answer was invariably:—"Nothing is possible until you can succeed in educating the newspaper proprietors to a belief that your complaint is well founded." I think that if the medical men who have to deal with cases of temporary mental affliction, and those who are responsible for the management of our mental hospitals, were to be called upon to submit proof of what Dr. Alexander alleges, then the proprietors would be obliged to take common action to minimise what would have to be regarded as an'evil. Jn this connection I certainly am of opinion that during the past six months our cable columns have been overloaded with, "undesirable"- incidents relative to murders, crimes,, and divorce proceedings. On this score complaints' have been made to me over and over again by heads of families, who assert that they are compelled to hide the papers away i,from their young children, who ure [ too, prone to discuss such matters when thoy are thus frequently brought under their notice. In this direction ]we certainly can be helpful to Dr. ! Alexander and those who share his opinions, because, if the directors of the Press Association, who, after all, are synonymous with the newspaper proprietors, were to make representations in the proper quarter there

would be (as.there ought to be, in my judgment) a lessening of the supply of this particular class of information. If it is riot received, it cannot be distributed, and■; therefore. all the ,papers, owning allegiance to' the Press Association would be minus, this so-, called "news," which, I am sure, the rixoat ma's® of the reading public would not grieve over. Editor Dunedin Evening Star.

I am in receipt of your circular of the 26th February, in which, you invite an expression of my views on the subject of a. Suggestion by Dr. Alex-, -ander, of Ashburn' Hall, that, as _ has been recommended by th& -American Medical Association, the details of cases of suicide should be omitted from publication by newspapers. Nobody who has given any consideration to the matter can have failed to observe the potency, of suggestion on illbalanced ' minds. Recent months, have supplied a few illustrations that are directly in point. - Tho published details of the Crippen murder case' 'in England showed that the murderer used a poison (hyoscine), the properties of which- were not previously known to the public, and the use of which had not been recorded before in the criminal annals. A ffew weeks later a cablegram^, from, I think, America, was published in the New Zealand papers relative .to ta case of suicide by the self-administration of hyosoine." Again, we have recently had, «, distinct , run in our own Dominion on lysol as an agent in oases of suicide, and it is reasonable, to suppose that the use of it was suggested in the latter cases by the publicity which was given to the occurrence of the earlier cases.

When, however, all this is recog-. nised, the question prompts itself, whether the publication of the details of these tragedies suggested suicide so much as it suggested' the mode of suicide. Upon this point Dr. Alexander himself, with whom I have had the opportunity of . discussing the matter, hesitates to pronounce very strongly. The morbid tendency must be held to be present in the case of every person upon whom the power of suggestive influence is exerted by the publication of details of suicide! That being so, it is probable that there is a tendency on the part of medical practitioners, and especially on the part of alienists, to exaggerate the evils attendant upon the publicity that is given to these happenings. T do not wish to seem1 to justify the publication of extended reports of oases of suicide. They are events of a kind concerning the reports' of which, in my judgment, a liberal discretion should be exercised by journalists. Ordinarily speaking, indeed, S should incline to the view that, unless the ce.se presented, any exceptional features, the less published abopt it the better. But the publication of details of the kind which Dr. Alexander thinks should be omitted from the reports may really be in the public interest. It is, for instance, reasonable to argue that the publication of: ithe details respecting the cases of suicide, in our own country through the agency of lysol has directed attention to the necessity for the transference of that poison to the list of those that may no be sold without the 'observance of formalities, which are prescribed1 by law. For theso reasons, while I have some sympathy with the views communicated by Dr. Alexander. I am unable to support the suggestion. that details of suicide should be omitted from Press reports. I agree, however, that. where the circumstances are not exceptional, the details should be sparingly reported.

JAS. HUTCHISON, Editor Otago Daily Times

I have received your letter of the 27th ult., enclosing a communication from Dr. Alexander, of Dunedin, in reference to the suppression of report® of suicides. In answer to your request for my views on thp subject, I beg to say that while I fully sympathise with the object Dr. Alexander had in view, there are practical difficulties in the way of adopting- his suggestion, which may not have occurred to him. '

I am aware of the imitative disposition often found in persons of a suicidal tendency, and also that in large

centres of population the report of a suicide presenting any peculiar features is sometimes followed by other cases of the same kind. In the course of over thirty years?, experience in New Zealand, however, I cannot recall any instance of^ self-destruction in which it could fairly be said that it was traceable to reading newspaper reports or suicides. -. The nlost that couldl be said, I thinks is that there have been cases in which persons, already bent on suicide, but undecided as to the particular means to be •adopted, hiave selected the method usied in some other case recently brought before the public. But even these cases, I feel sure, are very few in number. The wisdom of keeping reports of suicides, and> indeed,, of crimos of violence of all kinds, out of mental hospitals, where there are patients of homicidal tendencies, is self-evident. Newspapers, however, th© presumably for the sane population of tho country, and I cannot think that the danger of publishing the reports which are given at present is such as to give rise to any serious concern. ' The members of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association are aware that already a good deal of restraint is exercised by the conductors of New Zealand papers in reporting criminal cases arid suicides. I have lately returned from a trip round the world, and can ur> hesitatingly say that *>yen the best conducted papers in England devote more space to the sensational element in criminal cases, and to the details of divorce suits, than is the custom in New Zealand; with the journals embraced in the Newspaper Proprietors' Association. In Gamada, even the leading newspapers are copying the American style, and becoming more and more imbued wtih sensationalism.

While I fully approve of the policy J we have adopted, and should not like to ee-3 it:departed from, it is impossible to shut one's eyes to.the fact that a large section of the piiblic have a craving for sensationalism, and that the self-restraint shown by the leading journals has probably had not a little to do with the establishment and apparent success of another paper 1 which thrives on the kind of matter H'hich the more reputable journals exclude from their columns.

There is another aspect of the case, which, perhaps, should1 not be lost sight or, ito.' considering, the^ question ; which Dr.' Alexander has raised. A considerable proportion of the cases' of suicide in New Zealand appear to bo due to drink, and if we are to sup-p-russ the reports, our prohibitionist , f r;. ends would probably . say that we w.-re suppressing some of the most impressive evidence of the evils- of intemperance, .and thus depriving the public of a great moral lesson, and a powerful deterrent against drinking habits. I have, indeed, known eases in which, a newspaper has been blamed, and even accused of improper motives, because, out of regard for the feelings of relatives, it has softened down >or altogether suppressed somo of the evidence in oases of suicide through drinking. Finally, it is to bo borne in mind that the function of a newspaper is to record what is going on in a community.: If we are to suppress reports of suicides because of their possible effects of suggestion, to be consistent we ought to suppress the reports of criminal trials of all kinds, since there is no doubt that in certain vnorbid dispositions the reading of such reports might possibly incite to the commission of crime. But, on the other hand, the publicity of the sentences may fairly be assumed to have a deterrent which outweighs the dangers from suggestion, and we know that in many cases the publicity given by^ihe newspapers to offences is more deterrent than the sentence itself.

On the whole, with every respect for Dr. Alexander's opinion, and'j&ympathislng with the object he has in view;, I do not see how we can do better than continue our present practice of reporting all events which form part of the social life of the community, and, at the same time, keeping within very strict limits the publication of details- likely to exercise an unwholesome influence.

W. H. TRIGGS, Editor The Press,

I have been quite unable to reply before;-.-to.-your inquiry in regard to the influence of newspapers on potential suicides. Before the medical profession could expect to prevent cases of suicide from reaching people who might be" affected by reading or hearing of them, it would be necessary to render the publication of such details illegal not only in newspapers, but also in novels and magazines, as well as having such subjects prohibited from the stage or the moving picture. The last two are, I consider, much more potent in their influence on weak-minded people, because of the means employed to oxcite an audience. In any case, the proposal is not at all practicable in its present form.

CHARLES C, READE, & Editor N.Z. Weekly Graphic.

Enclosed please find few thoughts on question "Suicide and Publicity," which, I understand, is to engage the attention of your Association. There have been, amongst others, three particular suicides here, two of the parties being connected by marriage, and I doubt not at least one tragedy was influenced by the other. F. WEBB JONES, Wanganui Herald.

"There is still a great scarcity of school teachers of the class receiving | from £90 to £120 a year," said Mr C. j J. Parr at the last meeting of th© Auckland Board of Education. He added that the Board had sometimes,: to appoint uncertificated teachers, who had very littl© experience. The Board, however, was in hopes that the Training College would make a very appreciable difference in this regard. A few minutes later Mr Parr invited i the Board to consider some applications for employment as teachers, and one of the first .to catch his eye brought from him an exclamation of surprise. "Why!" he said, "here's an application for a position worth £150 a year from a man who is ta Bachelor of Science, and evidently a Bachelor of 'Medicine' also, for he signs himself 'B.M. " But the secretary hastened to explain that the ' |M;' stood for "Married," and the "B" referred to the gentleman's certificate!

On Tuesday (says the N.Z. Times) a man of middle-age, by name Luke Farrell, pierced with his head a window in Manners Street. The man —who had been on a long and heavy drinking bout—luckily escaped serious (injury in withdrawing his head, through the jagged hole. An attempt to wound himself with a large piece of the broken glass ended unsuccessfully. Farrell was arrested and taken to the Lambton Quay police station.