2008 Woodie Awards
Police beats irrelevant to students, embarrassing to individuals
Issue date: 1/10/07 Section: Letters to Editor
My name is Latoya Maley, and as a student at Northern Kentucky University, I am especially, concerned with the way the Northerner decides to report police incidents that occur on campus. I have been a student of this University for two years now, as well as a resident. I feel that some of the reports that are placed in the weekly newspaper are irrelevant and embarrassing for some students. It is important to alert the residents of this University about reports with the police that may be important to their well being. However, it is not of importance for all students to know whom got pulled over for a ticket.
I feel that the "police reports" section of the newspaper tells a lot of information that does not need to be released to the public. In the latest issue of the Northerner newspaper, a report was published that told of someone failing to stop at a stop sign. It also released the name of the driver, and what type of citation that was issued. This type of information does not need to be released to the public because it is irrelevant, and can be embarrassing to the person whose name is mentioned.
The title that headlines this issue is "Vehicle Break-ins, book theft rises" which in the article talks about thefts that have been occurring on campus as well as vehicle break-ins. This type of information is what should be released to the public because it pertains to the safety of the residents of this campus. It is detrimental that students know that crime does occur on this campus. This particular article stated "Crime on Northern Kentucky University's campus has seen a spike in the past weeks." That type of information allows students to be more aware of their surroundings. The other information that is reported does nothing but allow students to be involved in someone else's personal business.
The Northerner is a wonderful newspaper that gives a lot of important information about the university and the students who attend Northern Kentucky University, but as far as the section reporting incidents with the police, it could be much better. It is not necessary that the students of this university know information about who got in trouble with the police while driving. That type of information can be embarrassing for someone, especially if it were you.
Latoya Maley
I feel that the "police reports" section of the newspaper tells a lot of information that does not need to be released to the public. In the latest issue of the Northerner newspaper, a report was published that told of someone failing to stop at a stop sign. It also released the name of the driver, and what type of citation that was issued. This type of information does not need to be released to the public because it is irrelevant, and can be embarrassing to the person whose name is mentioned.
The title that headlines this issue is "Vehicle Break-ins, book theft rises" which in the article talks about thefts that have been occurring on campus as well as vehicle break-ins. This type of information is what should be released to the public because it pertains to the safety of the residents of this campus. It is detrimental that students know that crime does occur on this campus. This particular article stated "Crime on Northern Kentucky University's campus has seen a spike in the past weeks." That type of information allows students to be more aware of their surroundings. The other information that is reported does nothing but allow students to be involved in someone else's personal business.
The Northerner is a wonderful newspaper that gives a lot of important information about the university and the students who attend Northern Kentucky University, but as far as the section reporting incidents with the police, it could be much better. It is not necessary that the students of this university know information about who got in trouble with the police while driving. That type of information can be embarrassing for someone, especially if it were you.
Latoya Maley
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Jennifer
posted 12/28/06 @ 8:28 AM EST
I'm on the fence about the publishing of the information you mention--on one hand, it is public record anyway, so who cares...but on the other hand, what function does publishing it serve other than embarassing the parties involved?
Reading your letter, however, did make me think about the fact that when we are on campus, we are under intense scrutiny when it comes to expired tags, speeding tickets, etc. (Continued…)
Nicole
posted 1/10/07 @ 6:20 PM EST
The publishing of crime logs comes down to complying with federal and state acts. I believe the crime logs are published in accordance with the Federal Crime Awareness and Campus Security (Clery) Act of 1990 and the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Campus Security (Minger) Act of 2000. (Continued…)
Eric
posted 1/12/07 @ 11:37 AM EST
First, the issue here is of course one of legality, as Nicole pointed out, but is also one of common sense: if you don't want your crime reported, don't commit it. (Continued…)
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