Journalism at UMD

Originally I thought, “Alright, so I will have at least one story in the paper a week.�? Little did I know, reporting crime was an adventure in and of itself.

For a while I would speak with Lt. Anne Peterson, head of the university police. She gave me the news on what was going on over a large span of time. I would take notes, ask questions about the location of the crimes committed and what students could do to reduce the chances of becoming victim to theft, attacks and breaking and entering. It never fazed me to ask for information about the suspects themselves: name, age and other information the public should know.

After a while, Peterson referred me to two sergeants to talk about crime beat. My weekly Tuesday night visits with the officers were similar to my Monday morning visits with Peterson. I started to think, “Is this really crime beat reporting? I feel this is something students would read and laugh at.�?

Then one day in January, a friend walked into my German class.

“Sara, I love your crime beat. It’s hilarious!�?

My friend was referring to the article I wrote in which a student put on a Dining Center (DC) T-shirt to disguise himself as an employee to get free food. According to police, the student was no longer allowed to enter the dining center.

So my crime beat is hilarious? I knew my friend meant nothing negative, but that’s when I realized I had to ask the name, age and other necessary information the public deserved to know. I didn’t want the crime beat to be entertaining or something that could go in the humor section. I knew that I would need to do more crime beat reporting.

What had been a mutually pleasing relationship with the university police became frustrating. I would ask the sergeants the same questions as before, along with wanting the name of the suspect who was arrested.

“His name cannot be released because the formal charge has not been brought back to us,�? the sergeants said numerous times.

At first I thought this was OK; however, my editors were getting frustrated that university police were not giving me names. They said I had a legal right to get suspects’ names as soon as they were in police custody.

Wanting to keep the six-month relationship with university police, I didn’t question the officers when they said the suspects’ names could not be released.

However, in April, I spoke with former crime beat reporter from the Hibbing Tribune reporter, Jeff Warner. Currently a city council reporter for the paper, Warner knew where I was coming from.

“Reporters build relationships with people they talk to. Sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes it takes months,�? Warner said. “When that relationship is made, how do you go about protecting your sources but do a good job?�?

I asked Warner how he dealt with authorities and officials who didn’t always give him the information he had a right to.

“Just because we are a small community, it makes no difference,�? Warner said. “We are reporters and there are rules and laws that always need to be followed. Seriously, stand your ground.�?

After speaking with Warner and getting told that I had a legal right to obtaining suspects names upon being in police custody, I looked up 13.82.

Minnesota Statutes of 2007, section 13.82, Comprehensive Law Enforcement Data. With a plethora of important information that all journalists should memorize, this gives journalists the right to obtain information from law enforcement that is necessary for citizens to know.

Subdivision two: Arrest data. “The following data created or collected by law enforcement agencies which documents any actions taken by them to cite, arrest, incarcerate or otherwise substantially deprive as adult individual of liberty shall be public at all times in the originating agency:�?

The arrest data went from a-m. I only went as far as j: “the name, age, sex and last known address of an adult or the age and sex of any juvenile person cited, arrested, incarcerated or otherwise substantially deprived of liberty.�?

Does this mean that as soon as a suspect is in police custody, the name is public information, and can therefore be given to the crime beat reporter?

Wanting to make sure the answer was yes, I made a call to the Minnesota Newspaper Association (MNA) and asked to speak with Mark Anfinson, the legal attorney who knows 13.82 backwards and forwards.

“Sadly it is all too common,�? Anfinson said with regards to public information being withheld from journalists. “The suspect’s name is public information. In extreme cases, the name is not given, but 99.9 percent of the time, it should be given.�?

Anfinson gave me useful tips on how to handle the situation in a civilized, legal manner, since my relationship with the department is important. He stressed that if a letter to the chief didn’t work, I was to “sharpen my spear.�?

“Tell them [university police] you’ve talked to your immediate lawyer,�? he said. “It’s preposterous that they are withholding that information.�?

On May 8, 2008, I spoke with one of the sergeants about Minnesota Statute 13.82, during our last crime beat report of the school year.

We discussed the article I had written the previous week in which a UMD student got into a physical entanglement with an officer and punched him in the face. When I had asked him for the suspect’s name, he said that his name could not be released because he was not formally charged.

The sergeant said he noticed that I had gotten the suspect’s name and that there must have been some confusion with their department and myself.

That is when I asked him very nonchalantly about section 13.82.

“I’m very aware of that Minnesota statute,�? he said. “All of us are.�?

I explained that from what I have learned about the statute, as long as a suspect is in police custody, his name is pubic information.

“This is true, when the suspect has been formally charged,�? he said. “Since he had not been formally charged of a crime, his name was not public.�?

Former Miami Herald crime beat reporter, Edna Buchanan, in her book The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America’s Hottest Beat, discussed the thrill of being a crime beat reporter: “By the end of my year, I had seen how stories can make a difference. They often produce results. Stories can get people out of jail or put people into jail. Stories can even change the law.�?

From the upset e-mails I have received from people who cannot believe I printed their friend’s name in my article, I know that my articles are being read. I feel that there is some unfinished business that I hope can be resolved. Maybe this story will change the law.