Tag Archives: Chief Settingsgaard

There’s a reason you have to have press credentials to see the police blotter

I read Billy’s recent “free” post about how he was denied access to police reports. His post calls into question the police department’s restriction of this information to only those with press credentials.

I wanted to find out what the police department’s policy actually was, so I e-mailed Chief Settingsgaard. It turns out that, rather than an attempt to keep information away from people, it’s actually an attempt to make information available more quickly. The police reports include private personal information such as social security numbers and home phone numbers that can be (and should be) redacted. But rather than hold up those reports until they can be redacted, the police department makes them available immediately to the press, trusting that they will be responsible and “[maintain] appropriate discretion.”

In order to restrict this information to the media, one has to ask, “who are ‘the media’?” Traditionally, that moniker has belonged to the mainstream media, but these days there are a lot more freelance reporters. With news organizations downsizing, and the ease of starting new niche-print or online publication, there are a lot of journalists out there who don’t have traditional “press credentials.” Settingsgaard realizes this as well.

“Obviously the industry is changing and not all reporters are members of the mainstream media any longer so clearly we need to adapt so that persons like yourself and Bill Dennis are not excluded. In the short term I will ensure that access is opened immediately to Mr. Dennis and others like him whom we are familiar with. Long term I will be taking a close look at how to make the system better and either configure the reports so that anyone can view them or modernize our ‘press’ qualification.”

My thanks to Chief Settingsgaard for his quick response to and resolution of the matter.

And as for Billy: That will be $30, please.

David Kennedy methods rolled out in Peoria

The Journal Star reports that the Peoria Police Department, in cooperation with the State’s Attorney’s office, is rolling out a Drug Market Initiative/Intervention strategy here in Peoria. Although he’s not named in the article, this is the program developed by David Kennedy on which I reported back in March, with a follow-up article in April. In March, Chief Settingsgaard said that he had “a team being trained by Kennedy and his staff.”

The paper summarizes the program thus:

The Drug Market Initiative/Intervention strategy targets geographic drug markets and involves prosecuting the most violent offenders. Low-level offenders are offered a second chance through interventions and help from social service agencies, along with the warning that another crime means jail time.

I applaud the police for trying new methods to reduce crime, and I’m especially pleased to see the police working with the State’s Attorney’s office. Too often there is an adversarial relationship between these two agencies. Best of luck to everyone involved in implementing this new strategy.