Four police media teams across London will no longer deal with reactive media enquiries from newspapers as part of a pilot project.
Journalists at local titles have been told that all reactive media calls about incidents on their patches will now be handled by the main Met Police press office, rather than by local communications teams.
The four teams across the capital will now just focus on good news and will send out positive press releases.
The move is part of a pilot scheme being run by the Met Police in order to “better manage the demand upon us”.
An MPS spokesperson said: “The Directorate of Media and Communication is running a pilot to handle all reactive media calls centrally, within our 24-hour press bureau, in a bid to help us better manage the demand upon us.
“Our local communication teams will continue to focus on building relationships between local officers and the local media, communication support to local issues and ensuring that operations, convictions and policing activity is promoted.”
One of the teams, the South Cluster press office, has told journalists at local papers that it will no longer deal with reactive enquiries about local crimes and road traffic collisions.
An email sent out about the changes, which has been seen by Press Gazette, said: “The South Cluster team we will no longer be responsible for any reactive media enquiries which includes the general enquiries into incidents which have taken place, RTCs, twitter follow ups etc.
“Understandably this is a significant change in the way we currently work. Since the South Cluster team was set up nearly two years ago we have made good progress and have forged good relations (I hope) with you all which we want to maintain.
“The South Cluster team will now encompass ‘proactive’ good news releases only.
“We will still be in touch with the boroughs and continue to liaise with officers to find out what is going on, getting the good news stories and letting you know of up-coming court appearances/sentencings.
“We will continue to send out press releases of any proactive work we undertake.”
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Wow, just…wow!!! Welcome to Airstrip One!
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Don’t be concerned. If the public don’t know that crime is happening, they won’t worry about it so everyone will be happy. Another box ticked on someone’s career development plan.
They’ve been at it for years, albeit in less overt ways than this, and not just in London. My memory is that ‘fear of crime’ became an issue under the Blair regime. All about a shiny exterior, regardless of what might lurk under the surface.
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Crime? No, sorry, that doesn’t exist here. But, if you have a spare templated space to fill, we can tell you all about our lovely, fluffy world of sugar and sherbert and proactive proaction.
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I guess this is a natural next step by an organisation seeking to control their image rather than serve the public. Police press officers are aware that increasingly desperate surviving news room staffs are forced to fill pages, and sister websites, with anything they can get their hands on. Police officers terrified of talking to reporters for fear of being disciplined, press officers ordered to concentrate on only good news, reporters with hardly any time to step out of an office never mind “build relationships” with sources who might actually be useful, inexperienced local journalists with non-existent support from non-existent editors and news editors … it is all very sad.
Hopefully, in this brave not-not-so-new media world, the people currently squeezing the life out of many fine newspapers will in their search for profits be forced to invest in journalism which will encourage readers to pay a little for news on their iPads and smart phones.
Apologies from a boring old news fart for this (rather muted) rant and good luck to the youngsters in the industry who I hope will find a successful future.
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So the police that WE pay to enforce OUR law in the name of Her Majesty feel they are no longer accountable to us? Am I reading this correctly? Is this the real life or is this just fantasy?
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So these press offices are going to become propaganda units then? Glad I’m not a council taxpayer in London.
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“The four teams across the capital will now just focus on good news and will send out positive press releases.”
Given the MPS’s completely toxic reputation these days, they will have absolutely nothing to do.
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If you add this to the increasingly apparent manipulation of the media being practised by the political parties during the so-called ‘election’ campaign, the outlook for freedom in this country is bleak.
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South Cluster? South Cluster(f***-up) more like.
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Next step: Eric Pickles bans police “Pravdas” for being just propaganda. The main Met press office cuts its staff so that no-one can find out anything, & then Hogan Howe & Boris can brag about falling crime rates with no-one to gainsay them.
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Speaking as someone who fondly recalls the days of mutual respect between police sources (often quite senior officers) and local scribes, I lament this further evisceration of journalistic standards.
Police forces nationwide are now able to rigorously control the flow of information.
That said,.we should not be surprised at all. Decades of our journos being spoon-fed “news” by so-called information officers has created an atmosphere riddled with idleness.
Add to that, the seemingly-endless cuts in reporter numbers and you have a recipe for boring, meaningless, space-filling drivel in place of real news.
Where’s the NUJ when you need it?
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Let’s hope they’ll soon be putting out positive press releases about the collapse of all those cases against the many journalists they arrested.
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“Our local communication teams will continue to focus on building relationships between local officers and the local media”
Last I heard relationships between local officers and local media had been banned.
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Nothing like the Sussex Police million pound operation that doesn’t supply out of hours cover, nor any cover at the weekend, unless its a huge incident!
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I remember the days the collator at Sidcup nick would open the crime book and say: “There are some good ones today, especially the burglary in the High Street. Close the book when you have finished. I am going for a cuppa.
“Look in on CID I think they have some stories for you.”
No fear of crime in those days, reality.
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Yes, Tim Healy, I too was delighted to be on the police beat in the past. The station sgt offering a cup of tea with the book, being chatted up in CID and then later a lunchtime drink with some PCs wearing coats to cover their uniforms in a back bar of a local pub.
From that to what we have today is unrecognisable.
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Back in the 70s, after much frustration at the hands of a zipped-mouth copper: I told him: “Listen mate, I pay your wages.” He took me down a back alley and battered me. Ever since then, I’ve always believed our policemen are wonderful.
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It’s worth bearing in mind (and I’m no defender of the police) that all the police forces are having their funding squeezed by the Tories and mini-Tories and are having to chop back all except front-line officers, with communication officers (quite rightly, I think, as potentially one of them) one of the easiest overheads to cut. I was dealing with police in Brierley Hill (in the Black Country) 20 years ago who would claim every day that there had been no crime on their patch so I think this is just The Met at least having the decency to come out and admit it will be official policy to be crap and lazy from now on.
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I recall a police supt telling me that he didn’t serve the public, he served his badge (force) … and would protest loudly should the local newspaper damage its reputation (in his opinion) but reporting the news (crime). It appears it’s even tougher for journalists back in the UK nowadays.
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Great to see Eric posting on here, a true legend of local journalism,
One of the only ways you can get police stories these days is FOIs. I once got some good info from a copper when I was dressed as a fireman and was out with the fire brigade on bonfire night.
Me: ‘Busy night?’
Them: ‘Chaos, been to 50 incidents already tonight, cars being overturned and everything’
Me: ‘Do tell.’
Was it ethical? Who knows, but sometimes life robs you and you’ve got to rob it back.
Needless to say the only ‘pro active’ press release we got was about people getting their bikes marked with traceable smartwater.
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If journalists had real contacts they wouldn’t have to rely on press officers. All the best, Dave
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It’s very simple. The local papers should make crime number one on their agenda. Put in FoIs asking for monthly crime stats – every month. Take info from crime maps and put out appeals for anyone who has been the victim of crime. Speak to local tenants and residents associations digging up more crime and disorder stories. And at the bottom of each story include the statement: The South Cluster police press office refused to comment.
Oh yes… and ignore every press release the Cluster team puts out.
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