Law enforcement agencies and the media have a symbiotic relationship, with both entities depending on each other. While the two have common goals, they sometimes have diverging priorities. As with any relationship, communication between law enforcement and media partners can be rocky at times, but there are also times when it can be smooth and positive. Two police departments in the Phoenix, Arizona, metro area have experienced the seesaw of public opinion, and each subscribes to the idea that building partnerships with reporters is the key to maintaining good media relations. 

When It Doesn’t Work Well 

The Sonoran Desert is home to a wide variety of spiky vegetation and fast-moving wildlife. The region is inhabited by humans, too, whose cities and suburbs and rural areas must compete for water and whose inhabitants strive to stay cool during 100-plus degree seasons. The city of Phoenix, Arizona, and its suburbs are nestled into the desert, their populations shrinking in summer and swelling with the arrival of the snowbirds—visitors from colder climes who winter in the area. The population of the neighboring city of Tempe begins to expand a bit earlier, in August, with the return of students and faculty to the main campus of Arizona State University. Tempe bills itself as a “sustainable city” and encourages inhabitants and visitors to, among other things, use alternative transportation, such as the light rail, bus, and self-propelled devices. 

Detective Greg Bacon of the Tempe Police Department’s Media Relations Unit points out that the beginning of August is a great time to connect with new and returning students (fall classes begin earlier in the West—generally in August). So on July 29, 2019, the Tempe Police Department initiated a “positive ticketing” campaign as a way to connect with community members, initiate conversations about safety, and reward individuals exhibiting safe behavior with a Circle K convenience store coupon redeemable for a hot or cold drink. 

“The daytime population increases during the school year,” Bacon says. “In addition to increased vehicular traffic, there are more people on bicycles and scooters, as well as pedestrians, in Tempe. This campaign was designed as a way to educate people who come from other states or countries on Arizona laws, such as that bicycles must ride with the flow of traffic and in the bike lane, if there is one.” 

The campaign is tied into the city’s Vision Zero traffic safety policy that aims to reduce the number of fatal and serious injuries to zero. “One fatality is one too many,” Bacon says. “The goal of the campaign is to save a life through education.” 

Such campaigns have been received well in other jurisdictions in the past. There was no reason to suspect that Tempe PD’s efforts would not go well—until the moment everything went off the rails. 

The department’s strategy was to issue an “invitation” a couple of weeks before the campaign kick-off to encourage local media to attend a July 29 press conference, rather than sending an initial press release about the campaign. “We sent the invitation to media outlets via email in mid-July,” Bacon explains. “We didn’t include a lot of information in the release because we wanted people to show up to the press conference. If we gave away too many details up front, they might not come.” 

Channel 12 News, the local NBC affiliate, asked whether it could receive the information slated to be delivered at the press conference earlier than the scheduled 8 a.m. time because its personnel wouldn’t be available to attend the press conference at that hour. According to Bacon, providing the information to one media outlet earlier than to the others would not have been “fair,” and the agency did not favor News 12 with advance information. 

Because it wasn’t able to attend the press conference, News 12 used the limited information gleaned from the invitation and extrapolated. The story it aired indicated that Tempe police would be pulling drivers over to reward them with drink coupons. 

The Public Responds 

Following News 12’s story, social media erupted.  

Individuals rushed to tweet their fears of being subjected to unwarranted traffic stops. The discussion centered around Fourth Amendment rights and worries that individuals would be ordered to “show their papers” to police—a reference to former Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s decade-old orders to law enforcement to check citizenship status when encountering the public. As such Twitterstorms go, tweets fed off the misinformation and other tweets to create a public relations nightmare for the Tempe Police Department. Within hours, Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir had to weigh in with her own message that News 12 had gotten the story wrong. 

“The idea that the community had that we were going to stop or detain the public—that was never going to happen,” Bacon stresses. “That is a Fourth Amendment rights issue. Our intention was always only to have consensual interactions with the public.” 

The goal, he says, is to spread safety information through word of mouth. “Once people have an interaction with officers, they can be educated about safety and pass their knowledge on to others,” he adds. 

The positive ticketing campaign public relations debacle followed on the heels of a July 4 incident in which six uniformed Tempe Police Department officers who had purchased coffee from a Starbucks were requested to either leave the coffee shop or get out of the sight of a customer who felt “uncomfortable” in their presence. The officers chose to make an exit.  

Starbucks later apologized. 

Lessons Learned 

Although the Tempe Police Department experienced its turn in the barrel recently, the fact that its public information officers have worked to maintain positive relationships with local media outlets helped turn things around. Because News 12 released incorrect information to the public in the morning, “we were doing damage control before the positive ticketing campaign even began,” Bacon explains. But the local news outlets “all came together in the afternoon to help us make the message 1,000-percent clear to the public,” he adds. 

News 12 also retracted its social media post and went on the air to clarify the intent of the campaign. 

In hindsight, Bacon says, the department could have done a couple of things differently: “We could have sent a press release that included information about what we weren’t going to do because the word ‘ticketing’ is associated with cars and vehicle stops.” 

In addition, Bacon, who earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in English and was an English teacher before joining the department, acknowledges that the word “ticket” also has negative connotations for the public, bringing up visions of potentially unpleasant encounters with police officers and being issued a ticket for an infraction that requires the payment of a fine. 

According to Bacon, local media outlets were willing to help clear up the misconception about the campaign because the department works on building and maintaining relationships with reporters. “We recognize that the press has a job to do. To make sure that stories are fair and accurate, we work on building relationships and being transparent with information,” he says.  

“When there is an ongoing investigation, for example, we recognize that the press is not being impatient when they ask for information. We know that reporters have to bring back updates to keep their bosses happy,” Bacon adds. 

The key is to be genuine about what information is available and what cannot be released at that time. Bacon approaches each interaction with the media on a person-to-person basis. “It’s hot in the desert,” he says. “Offer the reporter a bottle of water. Even if you can’t release certain information at the moment, you can treat everyone like a human being. 

“It’s about building relationships,” he stresses. 

When It Does Work 

Glendale, Arizona, is the small city in the Phoenix area that is home to the Arizona Cardinals’ football stadium and to shopping malls galore. The city’s police agency, Glendale Police Department, has been lauded by local organizations and the media alike.  

A short list of positive press includes coverage of officers who have been recognized for saving lives, exhibiting courage, and showing compassion. In addition, three active officers with Type 1 diabetes were applauded for participating in the department’s campaign of a few years ago to let potential applicants know that the disease is not a bar to employment with Glendale Police Department.  

Helping the Community 

Glendale Sergeant Jeff Turney has also gathered accolades from a variety of organizations for his contributions to the community. The local Angels on Patrol organization named Turney an Angel of the Year during the 2016 Halos and Holsters Dinner and Auction, and U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko of Arizona’s 8th District presented Sergeant Turney with Arizona’s 8th–Congressional Recognition in 2019.  

Turney became a media sensation after photos that one of his officers posted to social media went viral. In the course of responding to a call to the home of an elderly woman whose husband had just died, Turney discovered that her front door did not have a working lock. He got a lock and installed it for the new widow on the spot. The mainstream media picked up the story from the department’s Facebook posts and celebrated the dedicated officer.  

Turney had another 15 minutes of fame when, instead of arresting a single mother who had brought her kids to the side of the road in order to sell their toys to pay for diapers, he spent his own money to buy food and diapers for her and her children and ended the encounter by giving the kids junior police officer badges and hugs. 

The Secrets to Success 

“It is the role of the public information office to push the positive stories to the media,” says Sergeant John Roth, Glendale Police Department’s public information officer (PIO). His office publicizes the department’s Coffee with a Cop events, as well as other newsworthy items, such as when major cases are solved. 

Coffee with a Cop gives the public the opportunity to interact in public with police officers to learn more about the department, pass on information, or bring community problems to the attention of officers. It is a regularly occurring event whose mission is “to break down the barriers between police officers and the citizens they serve by removing agendas and allowing opportunities to…get to know the officers in your neighborhood.”  

According to Roth, the secret at the heart of the Glendale Police Department’s success with the media is professionalism. “The key is understanding that the media have a duty to report news to the community,” he says. In addition, he points out that reporters are “a conduit to the community,” which allows the department to push news out to community members when urgent situations arise. 

“We are partners with the media,” Roth stresses. “We are upfront about when we can and can’t give reporters information. We live up to what we say we can do and do our best to provide timely information.” 

In Roth’s view, it is imperative to develop a rapport with media representatives. He makes a point of meeting with them and establishing relationships built on trust. There is a fairly frequent turnover in reporters, so he continuously introduces himself to new arrivals. 

Part of being a good partner to the media includes responding to media requests promptly and efficiently, answering reporters within a few minutes, Roth says. “The media are my conduit,” he points out. “Glendale Police Department doesn’t have the audience that the local TV news does. When we have to get information about a missing juvenile out to the community, for example, we need the media. We must be a good partner to the media so that when I make a request, they respond.”  

In addition to mainstream media, Glendale Police Department uses social media outlets, including Facebook and Twitter, to distribute news. The agency is also active on the Nextdoor app, which provides pertinent information to residents by neighborhood. 

Good relationships with reporters are crucial, but the quality of the information being distributed is also critical. According to Roth, “It is important to have people vet the message and make sure it will be received as intended.” Media veterans are useful to serve as a second set of eyes on such communications. The Glendale Police Department can also rely on the media relations personnel with the City of Glendale to help out. 

Getting in Front of a Story 

Sometimes situations escalate quickly, and news comes from sources that are not official. In 2017, the Glendale Police Department was in the spotlight when officers used a Taser during a traffic stop. A federal lawsuit was filed against the department in 2018, claiming excessive force and a civil rights violation. 

The department’s message to the community about the incident did not come out until after some video of the incident was aired. “We didn’t get in front of the situation,” Roth says. “Our message was not released first. We had legal reasons why we couldn’t speak at the time,” he adds. 

Of course, reporters had to cover the incident because it was newsworthy. “The majority of our media partners treat us firmly but well,” Roth says. “They hold us accountable, which the community expects.” 

However, occasionally, Roth says, a media outlet has an agenda. If they release a story that is inaccurate, the PIO will ask them to correct it. “But sometimes they don’t want to,” he acknowledges. 

News media that work with the agency experience the benefits of a strong relationship. “We may reach out to the media partner who has worked the best with us to give them a ‘cool’ story, such as one involving a K-9 unit demo,” Roth says. “But we would never hold back important information from any media outlet.” 

While the Glendale Police Department employs the same types of media outreach that most departments use, Roth acknowledges that there are some law enforcement agencies that are far ahead of the curve. “The Los Angeles Police Department [California] and the Phoenix Police Department [Arizona] have audiovisual units available to do immediate interviews when news breaks,” he says a bit wistfully. “They use Facebook Live to stream press conferences pretty much immediately.” 

In the absence of such resources, Roth says that Glendale Police Department answers media inquiries promptly: “A quick reaction is a PIO’s responsibility. We don’t want reporters to show up at a scene and get inaccurate incident information from the neighborhood ‘looky-loos.’” 

He sums up his operating procedure: “Tell reporters if you don’t have the information, and tell them when you will have it, so they don’t look for it elsewhere.” 

According to Roth, one of the toughest aspects of his job is getting cops who have done something that is positive and newsworthy to step into the media spotlight. “We try to maximize the positives, but officers don’t like the attention,” he laments. However, when media outlets discover positive stories about the Glendale Police Department, they are quick to cover them. 

Roth stresses the importance of partnering with reporters. “The relationship between the media and the police is vital,” he says. 

 Recommendations 

Here are some tips for maximizing relations with the press from the two police departments featured here that have experienced both positive and negative coverage: 

• • • Deliver a clear message. Don’t assume that a media outlet will instinctively know what you are trying to communicate. Have another media professional review messages before they are disseminated to ensure maximum accuracy. 
    • Be honest about data that can and cannot be released. Reporters have deadlines, but they also understand that not all information from ongoing investigations is available immediately. 
    • Tell reporters when you expect to be able to release information. If they know you will provide information as soon as you can, they will not seek it from unauthorized sources. 
    • Be responsive. Get back to reporters as soon as possible to avoid looking as though your agency is hiding from the press. 
    • Treat members of media outlets well, as you would treat any other human being. Building any relationship requires time and attention.  
    • Recognize that reporters can serve as a direct pipeline to the community. Behaving as though a reporter is simply a walking Facebook post will not benefit the department when important information must be disseminated to the public. 
    • Don’t hesitate to promote feel-good stories to the press. Officers do amazing things in the community every day. Use the media to help you build good community relations.