The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Recently on Facebook and in conversation with readers, questions and criticism surrounding The Reminder's coverage of crime have been raised. People wonder why one crime is detailed in these pages while another is not. They speculate as to how we differentiate between 'notable' crime that deserves ink and 'everyday' crime that is really nothing special. Many readers will recall that our local RCMP detachments used to submit for publication a weekly summary of all complaints received. These were lists that summed up crimes in a few words: 'complaint of possible theft,' 'report of vandalism to garage' and so on. We have been asked why we no longer publish these summaries but continue to print the monthly reports of the Flin Flon Fire Department. These are all good questions. And they deserve good answers. First, RCMP detachments decide themselves whether to release weekly summaries of their call-outs. The list of calls to which officers respond is not a public document in the way that the City of Flin Flon's monthly fire report is. What does become public, once a year, is an annual Statistics Canada report that identifies how many crimes, by category, each RCMP detachment contended with over the previous 12 months. The Reminder obtains this report each year and reports on the contents. The recently released 2012 statistics, for instance, showed a modest drop in overall crime but a rise in crime categorized as 'violent.' So why do some crimes hit the pages of The Reminder while others do not? It basically comes down to two questions. First, is our newsroom even aware of the crime? Second, does it serve a public interest to report on the crime? The first factor is by far the most challenging. As your community newspaper, The Reminder relies to a large degree on you, our readers, to keep us abreast of the happenings around us. Sometimes our newsroom will hear of a crime and follow up on it. Sometimes we don't hear of a crime so we can't follow up on it. Sometimes we hear vague details of something that might have happened but, as far as we can tell, never did. See 'News' on pg. Continued from pg. If there is a serious crime, such as a homicide, arson or major theft, it is pretty much automatic that RCMP 'D' Division, which covers Manitoba, will issue a news release to ourselves and other media outlets across the province. But this raises another pertinent question: What is a 'serious' crime? Obviously different people will have different definitions. As for how The Reminder distinguishes between 'notable' crime and 'everyday' crime, we certainly lean toward publishing details of crimes, particularly those that are unsolved and /or put people or property in danger. But the 15-year-old kid who just shoplifted a $20 pair of jeans? Yeah, chances are we'll avoid reporting on that one. Other times, our hands have been tied by publication bans imposed by the courts. I would again invite readers who believe they have information that warrants public consumption to contact our office by phone (204-687-3454) or e-mail (news@thereminder. ca). And that goes for all types of information, not just crime and safety issues. Our goal is always to paint a complete picture of this community. Thank you.
