Sensitive Crime Reporting: Nigerian Media And The Need For A Paradigm Shift
By Usman Suleiman Sarki
As widely known, the media as an agency of socialization has over the years played a significant role in shaping the attitudes, culture as well as behaviour of people in the society. Therefore, this makes it a powerful tool of enlightening, educating and inculcating new attitudes to people especially the younger generations.
In addition, media is indeed the easiest means of dissemination of information to a large heterogeneous group of people within and around every nook and cranny of the society. However, in spite of the great advantages and prospects of the media, it also has some negative impacts, especially by looking at the manner in which contemporary crimes being perpetrated on a daily basis are reported.
It is a known fact that Nigeria is bedeviled by different sort of crimes that ranges from street crimes (such as phone snatching and thuggery), burglary, drug abuse, rape, rituals, cultism, separatists’s agitation, militancy, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and host of others.
However, in reporting these criminal activities, particularly during interviews with suspects, some media correspondents asked questions on the techniques used by suspected criminals in committing their crimes which provide a fertile ground for potential criminals to learn how to commit such forms of criminalities.
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In some instances, the security personnel while parading suspects compel them to explain their modes of operation which does more harm than good as it equips potential criminals with more sophisticated ways of commiting crimes thereby developing a way of avoiding arrest by security personnel.
It is also disheartening to learn that, sometimes, security personnel also march the suspects to the crime scene to practically demonstrate how they committed their crimes thereby making a video coverage and posting it on social media which serves as a training ground for people who have intention of committing such crimes.
In line with the foregoing, it is imperative to draw the attention of media correspondents and the security personnel using this style of suspect interview/interrogation to be mindful of the fact that it does more harm than good as it breeds more criminals which leads to the proliferation of criminal activities.
Again, it will also be good if the media houses and relevant stakeholders will jointly organize seminars and workshops on media and crime reporting so as to address these issues and improve upon their effort in fighting crimes in the country.
Towards realizing the above goals, it is very imperative for our media houses and the security agencies to assign these sensitive tasks to credible professionals with sound knowledge about the international standard of crime reporting in order to achieve the desired objectives.
This is necessary because, our style of crime reporting is more inclined to hardening the minds of criminals than softening it with a peak of status degradation due to the stigma attached and or associated with such unwholesome practices.
Usman Suleiman Sarki
Department of Sociology (Criminology and Security Programme)
Federal University Dutse
