A Letter Of Transmission - Research Proposal Example

Download file to see previous pages The problem as it stands, concerns the evaluation of the NSW police and the media. Thus far, no studies have evaluated how effective existing practices are, and in turn, what future actions need to be made to improve media relations and the overall public image of the NSW police. The following is a proposal for a study to research the effectiveness of the NSW police in regard to their media image. The focus of this study, will be toward determining those variables that can directly connect to improvements in outcomes or the establishment of a criteria of 'best practices' for future media relations strategies. BACKGROUND & LITERATURE: POLICE AND THE MEDIA. In the area of policing and criminal justice, the media is unavoidable because it is the main source for the public regarding crime information [Mawby, p. 225]. Indeed, police departments such as that in NSW, have full guidelines clearly outlining the media relations functions of the police department. Further, they have full divisions committed to media and public relations who are available on a twenty-four hour basis [Lee, 2010, p 3]. The report in question [NSW Public Affairs, 2010], outlines a number of the core functions of the media relations department, but also presents some of the protocols and limitations of media relations. That is, it defines what can and can not be discussed with the media, such as identifying information or information, for example, that might jeopardize an ongoing investigation. The police use the media on a number of different levels. First, and in the most general terms, media relations helps improve the public image of the police [Lee, 2010, p. 1] For some time, the police have had a challenging time presenting themselves to the public, and arguably, they are most often or consistently under media scrutiny under circumstances where their image is in question. Further, it can be said that for most of the public, there is a great deal of misinformation regarding the average police department, and with some irony, it might argued that the misinformation is largely the outcome of the media -- that is, the representations that proliferate public consciousness such as crime shows or even reality crime shows and, of course, movies. Thus, the general function of the media for the police, is to serve the overall image of the police and to break down barriers that exist between the public and the police. When this end is achieved, there is a greater degree of "public trust" [Lee, 2010, p. 2] contributing to the overall "legitimacy" of their body [Lee, 2010, p. 2]. There are a number of important particular functions that the media serve for the police. First, at the level of public information, there are a number of basic functions do with ongoing concerns or crisis situations. The police need to have a set of protocols for explaining emergency situations, and need to be prepared with a 'crisis management' plan particular to media relations. How, under emergency situations, does the media best effectively serve to disseminate information that is essentially in the public's best interest? Second, the media is used by the police, with particular focus toward solving crimes. By this point in time, the value and use of anonymous tips to the police department has become a ...Download file to see next pagesRead More