Is there a point to the police report?

We at the Pilot and Sentinel admit to including the occasional pink-tutu sighting or pooch-on-the-loose as some comic relief in the police report. But the real intent of the weekly police and court reports is not to fill empty space. Nor is it so that the Petersburg Pilot gets mentioned in Dave Barry's national humor column, as it was several weeks ago. Instead, the police and court reports are intended to briefly summarize legal matters and illegal activity in town.

We have an established list of criteria as to whether an item makes the leap from the police blotter and court reporter's notes to the newspaper. City staff goes through the police blotter before we see it and blacks out items they deem confidential due to laws or ongoing investigations. We have done our best to give equal treatment to every case we have known about.

Police and court reports are intended to require some level of accountability for two very public departments in town, as well as for citizens. While police officers do far more than is listed in the police report, these reports should give some indication of the volume of crime and number of arrests in the community. Hopefully these reports contributed to debate this year that centered around local drug activity and the need for an additional police officer.

We hope readers are able to glean other information from these reports as well, such as the need to be cautious because of increased thefts or bears in the neighborhood.

People have repeatedly asked why we include divorces or domestic violence in the newspaper. We know that many people in town are aware of the details of a marital breakup long before it hits the paper. But a major feature of divorce is the division of property. When a divorce is legally approved, it is a matter of financial concern to those who have monetary ties to the couple involved, particularly loans or debts.

Domestic violence should be treated like any other violent activity. Why have people never questioned the Pilot or Sentinel about printing an assault charge when someone beats someone else up in a bar? But they do question us when we print a domestic violence item about people who have been beating their spouses up in their home for months. We would only be protecting the abusers if we gave this kind of preferential treatment, and we are joining in the denial that prevents them from getting the kind of help they need.

It's true that the U.S. Constitution, state and federal law give each citizen access to much of what's printed in the newspaper. But the newspaper is intended to be a compendium of recent events so citizens may easily and quickly know what's happening in their community.

Should we stop covering city or borough assembly meetings, major trials and smaller court matters because we all have access to that under current law? Unfortunately, most people would not go seek out the legal records for the correct information, but would instead let the rumor mill crank up to a hellish speed that might make the cold, dry prose of the police report seem refreshing.