Dear Editor:
RE: A simple fix, Nov. 16.
I was saddened to learn that relations between the Wellington County OPP and the newspaper are currently not anywhere close to what they should be.
It wasn’t always that way, but apparently new people in charge of policing have some issues with news media.
Once upon a time, The county OPP and the Advertiser were strong allies in an effort to build a better community.
When Wellington OPP was created at amalgamation, the police and the newspaper put in place a verbal agreement. Police would report all the serious crimes, keep all news media informed, and we would cooperate in publishing warnings and announcements that the police issued, plus print all the news they gave us.
As a police reporter, I often ranged outside the county boundaries and was surprised that some OPP areas were not nearly as forthcoming as our county force. Apparently that attitude has now spread into Wellington OPP, too.
Cooperating with the police took several forms in the Advertiser. When a citizen survey determined people were concerned about drinking driving and speeding, those stories were, for many years, printed on the front page to drive home the message that such activity was unacceptable.
I cannot recall the number of times I was approached by people wanting their crimes and speeding tickets suppressed – including a colleague at the paper who had a heavy foot one weekend and became Speeder of the Week. All names were always printed, and the media relations officer provided all the news in a timely manner. I can remember only one exception in over a dozen years, and the apology came quickly the following week.
The trust worked both ways. I was once called to take pictures and do an article about the largest drug bust ever in Wellington County. A media relations officer at the Rockwood OPP station asked me to avoid taking a photo of an officer. I was also asked, if I ever saw the officer on the street, to not recognize him. I was told he worked undercover, and his life could be in danger if he was found out.
That’s trust.
I hope it can be restored between the police and news media the way it once was – for the betterment of everyone.
When the police were open and forthcoming with information in those days, Wellington OPP had a reputation as being one of the best police services in terms of community relations.
Current leadership might want to have a chat with former Inspector Steve Walsh or media officers like Keith Robb and Jennifer Smith to find out just how well that police-and-Advertiser agreement worked.
David Meyer,
Chatham