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:
In
STATEMENT
OF- ROB SHORTHOI.,
SE
Di.RIECTOR OF CORPORATE COMMUNIICATIONS~
STIL4~THCL.YDE PO L ICE
THE L~[-¥ ESON ]INQU]IR¥"
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Who are you and a brief smnmaD! at your career histo~"
I :sta.vl:ed my career in !998 upon comptetior~ of my studies at The
UnR~ersi~y of StirliI~g, After worki~g in a number of freelance and short
’
term marketing and communicatior~s roles, I applied: to.joinGo~.emmcnt
the " ’ .....
L, fforma*io~ and Communications Service in 200l. i worked wifl~ a number
of Ministers within the Sco,t~sh Lxecut!x,~, bv.k r~, finally becoming a Senior
(? ommuni carlo ns O fi’i c er work.in g fo r {he First Mir,,ister,
In 2006 t was seconded to Ihe Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Bid
Team as Head of F’R and Media, Followir,g the completion of that
succ¢ssf~ l campaign I joined the Scomsh Football Association aS Head of
Communications it1 November 20{)7.
I was appointed Director of Corporate Communications at Strathclyde
Police in October 2009.
2,,
Pllease describe the rMe and remit of the press office within Strathclyde
Ptflice
The Media Team within Stmthclyde Police sits within the Coq~orate
Communications Department. of which i am the Director: There is no
Press )time it’, Strathclvde PoliCe,
I -’~
can is two~foM. I:"~s
~AI’,,~
’ -the siat]: are expected to react to
The role of the ....
media interest in issues and incidents that arise or take plaee within ~he
Strathclyde Police area. This includes all. serious crimes and major
i~cidents
Secondly, the Team also have responsibility %r proac[ively promoting the
work of the Force to the Public through the media. Tt.fis work is primarily
concentraed on fi.~ding ’good news stories’ that- best demonstrate our
activities under our four Forcewide priorities; Public Protectiom Violence,
Disorder and Antisocial Behaviom; Serious Crime and ]’errorism and Road
Safety and Road Crime.
Pkase describe y{mr role a~d restmnsibilifies ~,.~.’ithi~ ~[~e press ~fffiee.
To whom do you report?
I do not work i~ the Media t’eam. I am the Director of the whole
Departmem .--which includes Marketing, Campaigns, l)esign. Social Media,
I,:~temal Communications, Events and the Force Website. ]:he Media Team
is managed by the Media Mat~ager on a daily basis, with strategic direction
provided by myself.
I do. hov,ever, assume responsibility for all media issues tl~at relate t:o the
C*~ief (;onstable persortally. I also have respor~sibitity fi)r the maintenat~ce
!NLb gho~!h.:)tie;* S,’.atement ~i Le~’eso~ h~quiry
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of relations.ships with the media at an editorial level.
I report to the Depuly Chief C,:mstabIe.
l)eseribe the culture of relations betwee:,~ the pre~.~ o!’fi~e on the one
hand and other Strathciyde police staff/offiCers on the other. Do you
consider that fl~ere is a relationship of trust and confidence? What
chm~ges, if any, wnuld y~m wish ~o make to the workilig relationship
and~ r,~
I believe t:hat the Force has a posi:tive working rclatioasi;ip wifl’~ the media
in Scotland -~ with that relatio~aship Iarge[y maintained by ll~e staff that work
in (7"or.., porate Commui3icaflonS. . ..... \Vt3ile it would be wro~:tg to say tha* there is
no direct contact between
Officers
" --’ and jonmaiists, the overwhelmiag
majority oi’ contact and engagement is managed by tI~e Corporate
(?ommunicatk~ns staff.
Like a[i relationships, ttlere are periods where the Force and the media may
disagree on certai:a issues, but~ by and large, we do not feei ~egative
towards t!ae media arid I do no~ believe that the media are negative towards
us, I believe that the staff in (.orporate Communications do have a
relationship built on trust with the media - somethil;lg which they work very
Mrd to maintair~.
[do not feel that any changes r~eed to be made°
Does the press office ha~:e a gatekeeper function for amtrolling access
to Strath¢iyde Poike personi~et?
Yes,
Does ~he press office have a gatekeeper function for controUi~g access
to Strathcb~de police persom~d?
7~
What is your impressim~ of ~he culture within Strathciyde 1Police in
relation to its dealings with the media (tI~e media hi all ~ts brans) :
[ belie-re that at more junior leVds, siaff within the or!4aaisatilor~ can be
nervous of ,he media as they are concerned tliat the media are only
interested in report:i~g bad news. This is mldoubtediy due to the f~et that the
junior ranks woukt n<)t typically have ar~y type or" eng~-~gernent with the
media and this inherent ser~:se of nervousness could be attribuled to the ’fear
0:[" th{.", ~.liiklio\,vn~’ "[his is not ar~ attit-ude fl;~at is restricted to the Police a~d I:
~ pa~s of the p~tbtic ~ector.
": " n other
"’ :: ’ ....
alllstlre that ......
stch ar~ amt,ade
mso ex~.sts
[-towever. { believe that at the niore senk~r ranks, o;ur staff recogn]se that the
media is an impon:m~t way of speaking; to tlie public. The same nervousness
does ~ot exist at this level a~:~:d I strongly believe that our senior ranks do
t-mderstand t-~e impo~l.a~t role that tile media play in :both -~,.x."
,,, (}ilr
rl 1~. c:[l I12_~
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operanonal needs during mvcstign-tions a~d in providm~ reassurance to the
pt~blic
Describe yore" impression of *he culture of dealings between the press
office and the media (the media in all its fi_~rms)? Do you consider the
retatim~ship be~veea the press office and the media to be a suecessfiil
one? Wt~a{ ehanges~ if any, d~ you c(msider shotdd be made to the
relationship?
8~
Due to the large array of active media in Scotland -- and the inherent
competition between newspapers, broadcasters and social media sources
that this creates -- working in Corporme Communications Jn a big,, busy
Force such as Strathc[vde is a demanding rote. There is a constant thirst for
new inffmnation, exclusive int’onnation ar~d.,’or access to senior people on. a
daily basis. [he staff in Corporale Communications nave to service arid
manage this demand.
They do so by being proi}ssio~al and by being orgmfised. ]E believe thaL
while the media will always waist more from us. they are appreciative of the
job that the staff who work ir~ the Media reran do. As mentioned
previously, it is my responsibility to maintain relationships with the media
a~ an editoria.l level a~d, as such. I woufd be made. aware of aw problems or
issues tha{ parts of the media may have with the service that we provide.
My experience is that. despite occasional situations that may arise, our
~’elationship remains str(m~ and is built on a mutuai understanding of our
respective roles and responsibilities.
In direct answer to the questio~L therefore, on the basis tha,. we maintain
regl~lar, largely unbroket~ contact with the media, ~ (lo cor~sider our
relationship to be a s~meessth! one.
While there would always be opportunities foli ctiaiige or improvement,
there is not|iiitg in tl~e way: tha{ we work that I believe necessitates any
prof(mnd changes at this point,
9.
Set out your understanding of the type of co~tac{ which press office
staff have with the locai and naficmal media c~wering nature, extent,
frequene3 and (in ~enerai terms) topics/content,
The Media Team based within Corporate Commm~icatior, s is open from
08:00 ---20:00 seven days a week. We also operate an out oi:" hours duty
service which is managed in co.t~junction with the Police Control Room
based wi~tfinonr Force Overview, h-~ 20 i/we k_~gged: i: 4+342 cat] s from the
med~a o~ our Spotlight media mmmgementirecord maimenance sys~er~.
The aitached docm~iei~t is a breakdown of the number: ot!: calls our Media
Ieam receive based cm c,ganisation fbr ti~e year 201 I.
10,
Are contacts with ~,he media restricted ~o certai~ staff or are a|l
per:so,he! within Strathclyde Police abie to dea~ with the media,
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Day to day responsibility for speaking to the media rests in ahnos* all cases
witi~ Corporate (!omrntmications. }lowever. of’ricers do regulaAv
s~eak to
¢ "I’ "
t]~e media throuo~h interviews: . aad mcd~a ce, ntm ences art anged by Co~Tpo~ ate
(., O t~I!(EIEt~,I cat l oils.
As explained later, however, we do operate a ditTfk’rent system for dealing
wkh local, commaaity media. Responsibility %r mair~:taining fl~is
relationship rests wi*h Community Police Ii~spectors.
!l.
Does the press ~)ffke prh)rifise some sections of {he: media over others?
For’ m_,t,!nce,
s, ,,
doe sit priorifise eommtmkat}ons and relations with the
na~ionM media ~ver those wRh the local media? If so, pkase give
detaits and explain why,
,° -~ in our (:crporate
qhe Media ~-: l:~,an:
=’
"’
-’-,
:{_ommumcat~ons
"~
I)c[am~ent
’ tends to
deal cxclual~.el., w~th the National Media. The Force has taken the decision
,laat responsibility for eagagcment wid~ local media should rest with local
C’ommunity Inspectors. This is done through the supplying of weekly
’crime fi!e’ irfformation and direct Contact. Our experience is d~at this is a
much more effective ~md sustainable way of passing key’ ini’bmmtion to
people at a local level
Are {here mechanisms in place to ensure that i~fformat~on is
disseminated wideiy to the media rather than to seteet journalis~s or
titles? ]If so, p~ease specify, if no~t, do 3:’t)il consider that there should
be?
Our inlbrmalion is issues ~kreugh the Newsliilk service which means that
when we isst, e a sta*eme~t it goes ~o all the m~or outletsi
The on y exception to this would be though the proactive work carried out
by’the Media Team. We do, as a matter of course, DiIch exclusive stories
about areas o1 our work to certain par~s of the media. For example, we
might offer oi~e ~ewspaper or broadcaster access to o~e of our specialised
unks in order to produce a more detailed feature.
However, as a aenerat rule, all inibrmation about ongoing invesl.igatior~s or
it~cidents is issued to all media via NewsIink:
13.
What is {he medias attitude rewards the press office’? l[n partku[a~:,
are ~hey satisfied by the provis~m~
As explained earlieL the media will always want more: access, more
inl:ormation and more detail. Iknow that they believe that they woutd get
more of this if they were aitowed to speak directly to Officers without
havir~g ~:o go through Corporate Comnmnications.
That being said. I do belie’,-e that the media do have a positive altitude
towards the Media Team within our Cot;pot’ate C:o.mmtmcatior~s
f’~b Slm~rdmuSe S!.a!emc, m !0 Lc’~e:~on 5qquir>.
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[k,t: arrogant. The;’ appreciate t]mt, hl the rnain, the staff r.t the team do work
hard i~:t order to enst~re that enquiries are answered accurately, promptly and
eiTec.th,eiv. I also know that: the media appreciate the fact that we operate
the hours that we work and the I~hct that we run an out of hota.rs service
Describe in geuerall terms and wRh illustrative examples, the persona!
contact which you have with ~he local and national media, The lnqui~w
would like an overall pietm:e
My role is not to act as Strathclyde PoIicc’s media officar. Rather, I provide
~trategic direction to the t, c rce on all commmfications matters ... includi~
relationships with politicians at both a local m~d natmna: b,~d.
Howeve> it would be wrong tot me to suggest that I do not speak to the
media. As I have already stated, I do maintain relationships m. an editorial
level and this involves me holding fairly regutar meetir, gs with editors and
broadcast heads who operate in the Strathclyde area. Due to the sheer
number of local media titles, this is not somethirtg that 1 also do with local
media. I tend to engage whh local media editors when [ have to deal with a
specific problem, or issue.
I do also, fl’om tim~: to time, find myself speaking to ]ovmmlists about
specific issues This does m)t happen freqt.tently m~d it l~m.mlly happens on
(_.bier
ti~e basis of it being an isst~e relating m the
’ " "Constabie and his policy
priorities For example. I dealt with the media whe~ the Ctnief was actively
calliw, for the creation era sin~,le na,tional Police Force in Scotland and,
just recently_ i arranged an interview with a newspaper li.~r d~e (_.,hlei ttm
related to his view on the use of fw~ds seized under Proceeds of Crime
teg islation.
1 would also expecl to be actively involved i.n major incidents that occur
within the Force area. For exmnple, in April 2011, a series of viable
explosive devices were sere through the post to various high profile figures
associated, with Celtic Football Club, I personally took re:-;ponsibility for the
media strategy and was directly involved in establishing a "news blackout"
at the behest of the Senior Investigating Ofi~cer.
I aiso find myself dealing with complaints flom media--- normally at a news
eaitor level about problems that they may have eacour~tered in their
dealiogs with the Media Team or the Media Manager. ! should nmke clear.
however, that this is .[hirly infrequent.
IS.
¯
)
O
Describe what ~/I/ro~-{~ are seeking to gait~ -~tor Strathdyde
t olice thrrmgh
your personM contact with the media
We wa,t, to convey clear messages m, ti~e public inS ,.trathclyde about our
core policing functions, SomeI.imes we wan~ to ask the public for help or to
provide information and sometimes we want t.o put out public reassurance
lY~
Sometimes
we wa.nt to comment (:m the role of the police in
messages.
..
public liD.
[{,?b S[’0rj~<,:-tSC Sl; 8{¢m--:l:F. t{.’, [,gveSi:~i ~ nqU iF~,
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16.
Describe in ge~eral terms and using il|ustrative e~amples what you
consk|er the loom and national media have been ~eekmg from you ir~
your personal dealh~gs wi~h ~hem
As stated above, [ believe thin the media are looking to me to be the sinale
point of contact at an editorial level. I also believe tha:: during a major
incident, the media would expecl me to be involved in the setting of
direction of the media engagemem. They also look to me to settle disputes
or issues or to act as someone they can appeal to wher~ they are perhaps no~
getting information that they would like.
By way ofexmr~ple~ I have been asked to make represer~tatior~s on behatfof
the media to the Crowt~ Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in order to
request the release of certain images or productions that relate to ongoing
fiNuiries.
I also hold regu.lar meetings with editors and broadcast heads in order to
discuss the way in which the Force is engaging witTh the media. This was
particularly relevar~t over the past 18 months as tl~e Force h.as been~,o;r>-,~
through a period of restructuring and cost saving. lh.t,,s
*" ’-~rt~,].ud~:~
" ¯ - -:, 1 sigrfificant
changes to the Corporate Communications Depamnent. l therefbre met
with editors arid broadcast heads in order to consult on the chan~es before
they were implemented.
17,
17o what exten~: have you accepIed tmspita|ity from fl,:e media whi~sl
working in your current position?
I do not, as a genera[ principle, accept hospitality from the media: The
overwhelming majority of my meetings with senior media figures are held
either in the offices of the editor or in my own: I have, however, o+~ a very
limited number of occasions, had iunch with people from the media. These
meetings am alwws logged in I:W diary~
:18,
lnsolhr as you have accepted hospltalitty from ~the medla, wha¢ has: been
~he nature of the hospRMi~: that you have accepted? What records
have you kept of such hospitaliD."2
As stated above:. I do not accepi hospitaliDr as a general p~inclp!t. However,
on one occasion (0i/I 0/10) I had kmch with the news editor of the ScottiSh
Sun and this was paid for by the Sum The ~:.. minted ;ah~ of this tunch was
£20 and it was logged in my hospitality register
T<+ whal: e~¢ent have you provide hospitMi~~ for the media?
I do not provide hospitality ~o the media.
Insofar as you have provided hospitaliIy to the media, what has bee~
the nature of that h(~spitaii~i? What records have you kept of such
hospitably.
Rob S[:*>r!hou~ve Sla[¢r’-.]¢r~t tO [+eves(m hiqmry
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I do ~:~;~ provide hospitality to the media.
:21,
If-lave you ever accepted gifts from the media? !f so, please give fuii
de~ails (inciuding who ga~e you the gffL when, what the gif~ was, and
why you believe they gave you the gift)
1 have never received m~y gfi:ts t?om the media.
22.
Have you ever disc~ssed the media, or media coverage, with
politicians? If so, how important is such commmdcation m~d why?
[ have discussed m.edia coverage with P~liticians. As statled above. I have
responsibility fbr the Corporate Communications .., whicla includes the
Media Team ... arid also responsiNtity for maintainh~g good relatioaships
with politicians, l woaM cup,sider it amatter of cmirse for issues relating to
media coverage ~) crop upin corr~ersations with politicians. Due to the high
profile nature of some of the iacidents thin the Police deal with. I believe
that it w(?uld be odd if such conversations did taut take place. Such
conversations are important to ptcser e good relations (in the sense that ~.~ot
having such disc~:tssions would make such relations more stilted and
awkward} so havi~ag as the conten:t ot the d~.~..u., sion is appropriate.
2.5°
What do you know about the level of hospitaiity accepted by
Strathclyde Police, including by officers ~t" the rank of Assistant Chief
Constable and ab(~ve? Do you consider the levd to be appropriate now
and to have been appropriate in the past? In addressi:ng ~his issue
please give your reasons and set out what you consider to be an
appropriate level of hospi~aliD: for pollice personnel to accept from the
nledia (if any’). What records are kept of such hospitaliD’?
As a genesat principle, St:m(, Officers in this Force do not accept
hospitality from themc,dk
-~ a on a regular basis. Aay hospitality that is
received should be liv_idest and wouid be recorded on the hospitality
register.
I belie~,.~e ihat this is enlirely a~propriate. Hospitality, if received, shot~ld iaot
create a relationship where ~he recipien~ feeis in s(?me way behotdcn to the
dor~or; nor should such an impression be created in,he n~Ji~d of the externa!
observer.
24
Do you consider tha~ you have b;ee~ adeqtmtely trained a~d!or given
sufficient guidm~ce on the appr~priatc handling of ~[~e media?
Yes. [have been working in roles tl~at b~volvc workin~ wiib the medla (and
dolr~g so at a senior level)for almost 14 years. [ believe that I do have
~ut h c~c ~I kt~owledge asia) how to work with the media
Do you. consider that you have bee~ adequately trained m~dior giver~
sufficient g~ida~ ce to enable you to give so und advice a~ d!or lead ership
on handling the media ~ y~mr starlit?
i~O[? S!ior;t;;~k;Sc Si;i=’emer::. ~o "~,o,~:>;0 ~ ]~qui~’~
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Yes. As above, I have been winking in roles that involve working with the
media for almost 14 years. [ believe that l do have suNcient knowledge as
to .aive sound advice to staff o~-~ how to work with the media.
26.
![)o you pro)vide training or gufda:~ce to your staff on (i) conducting and
mamtai~ing appropriate relationships with the media; (ii)
accepting/offering hospitality: (iii) bribery: and (iv) requests for ’off
the record’ comments? ~If so, please specit~v, Does (hat
training/guidance reflect!foil]low the ACPOS guidance?
l do t~ot provide regular training on the issues raised in the sense of my
establishing trainJrm seminars, or the like). However the Media Manaoer
who runs the., %din Team on a day to day basis - has responsibiEty for
m~suring that staff are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to
maimai.rfing appropriae relatior~ships with the media. All questions that
arise that require any clarification as they relate to the points in this quesdon
would be referred to the Media Manager bv the staff itl the first instance
and. if necessau, to m;,self if required.
For the avoidance of mw doubt, we do not permit the staff who work
within the Media Team to accept or offer hospitality m the media. Also. I
do not believe that we have a culture of ’informal hospitality i.e. Media
Team staff associating with iourr~alists. This is not a culture that I would, in
a[l\, wa~;~ encourage
2;7,
ll)o yotl consider that press office staff fee] cmlfident that they
understand what is, and what is m~t, appr~)priate ~:ontact wRh the
media’? When answering this questio:n, please explah~ what you
consider to be "appropriate eon~act" with ~he media,
I believe ~hat a~ approprime relatiorM~ip betweeta the Media Team staff and
the media is or~.e that is in accordaace with the job descriptions of tt~e stuff
and in accordance with0~e taw.
As stated previously, I do feel *hat fl~e reiationship the staff l~a~e wiIh the
media is appropriate, We do r~ot have ..... nor do we encourage -a culture oi"
socialising with th.e media and we do no~ permit staff to accept, or offer,
hospitality to the media.
[ am, therefore, corffktent, that the staff *\diy understated what the Force
deems to be at} appropriate relationsh.ip wit h the media.
28,
Do you em~sider that press office staff generally feel cm~fl2)rtaMe
briefing the media and responding t~ media requeststot ............. mformatmn.
Yes. i believe that the staff:’ who v~.ork m the Medm 1 earn at ~.trathclyde
Po [ice arc both highly skit led and. highly experie~ced in dealing wkh the
-,., % "7
,x .- "-)~-.
’ iXbd~c,’~,c
"~, ,-. ’
medm.
i h~rch
l~.,
that the staff are comfortable it~ dealing with
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media requests for information.
..... -,-m~,
v doubts orquestions
. . . . about specific requests,
- .......t ~ev are
Should they ha~.~.
ab]e to di sc uss tliese requests with the Media Man ager or. i(: ~ecessm, y.
myself.
29.
t)o incidents tha~ attract national media interest present particular
challenges? [f so~ what are those thai!ledges m~d do you consider ti~at
ti~c press office is adequately equipped ~ respond effectively and:
appropriately to such media interest?
’
,=.cofland. having
~. Police Force in ~1
Strathclv(e
.
PoUce
~1 ~ is the Iaroest
responsibilib.: :{Br providing poticing to roughly half of Scoflands
population, It comprises mTound ball’ the ent!re strei!lgfl~ of tim Pot ice Forces
in Scotland. Iris also the case that, statist tally and historically, the area
that the Force covers is, sadly, hoine to most of the serious and violent
crime iJ~ Scotland.
It is set against thai context that the Media :ITea~l staff work. It is the case:
,hat the overwhelmir~g majority of their work requires tMm to deal with the
national media. I would thereIbre say ,hat dealing with the t~ational inedia
does loot 0resent any particular challenges as it is, in the main, core business
for the stale
What im!t~rovements, ff any, do you thi~k could or shouhl be made to
the systems~ policies and/or trMning in your office to e~sure that press
:io~,~h~ps
~" v,’t ’~: h the
office staff ct~aduct a~d maintain appropriate:’~
rekt
....
media ?
While I would never say that -there could i~ot be ways in which
imvrovements could be made in this area, I do ~aot believe timt this Force
and its stuff have any fhndamentai p;roblems in terms of tt~eir understanding
of v~.hat con:stitu,es ar~t appropriate re;[ationship wiUi the media.
3L
Are y(~u a~dior ymw s~aff ~r~embers of {he Ass¢~clation of Police
C~mmunicators? From your perspective, what are the: benefits of
membership ~ff’ tins" Assoemtmn° " ’~: Could~ the Associ~:,t:io~ assist or: assist
fi~rther in ensuring ~hat relati~ms between police personnel a~d fhe
media are approprii~teo If so, Imw ?
Strathclyde PoUce staff"are not members of the Association of Police
Commu,~icators,
32.
Ins~)far as you are aMe to say, to wha{ extent are leaks from
Stratheiydc Police to the media and/or private detectives a p:roblem i()r
Strat~dyde ~ o]ice.
Any large organisaUon dealirtg with issues o[’ significant interest to the
public and the media will experience leaks of h-~l~rmatio~ from time to
time. Regrettably, Su’athelyde Police has such exper ences, however, [
Rob SI?l)*:tho~.is¢ 5;t.aig~y~.~:i.’.~, to [.¢v~;.,;o1’~ [r,q~aii)’
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¯ ~ ,:, S, ;¸
undcr,.tand
them to be rare. Accordingly: then, I carmot say that i would
regard such !c.ak ~ (!!re spcetl .e of whett~er th:ey are to the media or to private
detectives) as a m@)r problem.
33.
insofar as you are able to say, to what extent are leaks from the press
office specifically to the medla and/or private detectives a problem for
Strathelyde Police’?
To the best of my knowledge and, belief! Strathc, tyde Poiice does not have a
problem of h-~tbrmatior~ leaking to the media or priivate detectives fiom
Media Team staff.
34,
Wha* systems and procedures do you have in place in the press office, :if
m~y to kle~tify-, respond to, and deteeL ~he sourced of ~eaks? Do you
eon,.~de~ tha* they are eft~etive? What c~anges, if ai!y do you consider
should be made?
l.t there wine m~, suggestion that a Ieak of i*fformation has occurre& and it:
lbere were a suggestion that the source of such a leak could be the Media
Team, this would be referred to the. Ft, rc~ C,_ a!!tet Co~u[,tu.n Unit- which
sits withir~ Prol)ssional Standards Department,
i believe that this is entirely appropriate, and do ~-~ot recommend any
changes to this approach.
35.
in the last five years, how many investigations have been cmiducted
into ach~al or suspected leaks from the press o|t~ee and how many have
ied to the successful identifieafio~ of the source of the leak’? What was
the outcome of the other investigations ?
’
’ ~In my time at Strathclyc
t e Police there have not been any
’ el:Nt ’rues
. Ie~.g:
" " :~
’Mvhag
conducted that centre on Media Team :staffl I.....
am n~.~ t ’aware
of,m?
taken place wittlirt tile past 5 years,
36°
In the last five years has disciplinary action been taken against any
member of press office staff for ~eaking iifformat~on to the media
and!or private detectives? Of :so, please identify {he number of cases
and their outcome. There is ~m need tn :ident~t)r the person or persons
the subject of the disciplinary process.
NO.
37.
insofar as applicable, what do you consider are lhe driv~g ibrces
behind, or the main causes of, leaks from (i)police press " "’~Mt~ces
..... -’and {ii)
.
the police service m general.
While l do not believe that we have a euimre or a specific problem of
int-brmation leaki~ag to "a=’
t[.:c, media from dther within tlne Media Team or
from the Force i~. general I do accept that there is the potential }br this vO
RC:,B Sh,’)~I+:G.L:Se 5;t~{~.emer+t vo !,e,,.e..;o~? [;’tqui!’y
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happen. I would suggest that the driving force which would ].cad to such
leaks wouk:t be corrupnon. [his corruption could either be financial in
motivation° based on an inappropriate relation.ship,, or based on a sense of"
misguided loyalty to an individual or individuals who could benef]~ from
the leak, l.t is a corruption of a proper relationship or role.
38~
To what e~teR~t do vmn believe briber of police personnel by ~he media
to be a c~rre~t problem for Strathcbde Police (if at MI)?
A.gam, accepting that there is always a poterltial for this type of situation to
arise. I see no evidence in. media coverage to suggest that this is a pa~i.cular
problem tbr Stmthclyde Police
39,
Do you or, to your kn{,wledge, staff wortdng h~r the press office ever,
give *’~}ff the record" briefings or have "off the rec~rd" conversalions
with the media (bc~th local and national)’? If so, please give fiill details
and illustrative examples. Please also exp]ah~ why they take place and
what ym~ c~msider to be the benefits of such communications.
Staff within the Media Team will. from time to time kave ~off the record’
conversanons with the media or will ot~erwise provide "off the record"
infbm~atkm. ! use ’off the record’ as a phrase to denote a release of
in{bnnation which is still a paper one fi’om the Force, but it is released in.
circumstances where we and the media whici~ report: it do not publicly
a, tribu~e it to ourselves. ’Off the record.’ should never be used to
disseminme inaccurate or misleading intbm~ation and to try to do so without
responsibility being carried by us tbr that.
The .’eason fbr this is to ensure ~hat incorrect reporting of intbrmation is
avoided whereverposslbte., o .... For exanq~]e, if start" are aware that a particular
part of the. .... medt<’a is’-’ pursuing~ a story., about a particular incidertt and we
know tl~at their line o~>reporting is inaccurate we wilt ensure that we tetI the
journalist this on an ~off the record’ basis. For example, in a recent high
profile murder, the media were passed in.fo~nation regardiiig who may have
b_een,:, responsible for carryii~g out the crime. The Sei~ior Investigating
Of(icer assured us that the basis of the media reporting was inco~ect and he
authorised tl~e staff to bn~.t the. joumahst o91 the rwcc rd to that effi~Ct, This
briel:in~ ensured that the stoD, did not make it into print.
To itlusm.~te this point, the fii[lowing text is an anonymised lift from
V" "~
"
S pottight, o:ur media logging s~
slum.
FURTI:ER If;’ ASKED [F,S’IiiE I.~.!ORKS AT THE .k%~(X S( I{IO()L. "~V[¢ CI:iN
{ (:,~¢ 7:IR.~,4 TH:f 7’ S’tg~: tS 4 V E !’~::[’L ()~ 7.2[:; OF 2 7i[F ..~.t.... LLA.R t)SCIR):O ;.
HOW~g VI~’R STRICTL.}" O~;:F 777}[E ::~:,:..,:-.s~,
:,,~= ~, ~/~. ~.~’ 77]1~" IMA(TES AR["," :YO]’ Ot;"
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CHILDREN A T T+?[E SCHOOL
IF ASKED: H; AS,KED ABOUT TILT/ L)E=:~’I’H 01; A 28 YEAR OLD
~I%)MAN AND +1 5 MONTH OI_.D BABY ]i~ I ROS~.b(,ITf[LL 77-[E
t’ .)LI.,OFi".IM_~ IF ASKED $7:4 7:EMiENT C’AN BE GI/£;.,<
Around 0750 hours on Saturday J &~nuarv 2011. police were called to a
report that a 5 month old baby mzd a 26~ year old woman had died m
Prospecthi[l Creseem. Post mortem exammationx will be carried o,,tt m due
course. (.?~":::F 77[E i’~?i<i:-!:CO~4~D GU[DA?~+CE-. There does no1 Lq)pear to be
am@ing suspicious and it appears to have been a tragic bwident.
Our motivation /br providing ’off the record’ guidance is to ensure ~hat
stories are accurate and do not make it into circulation in such a way as to
cause undue fear and alam-~ to the public. We log ou~ :off the record’
briefh~gs.
40.
Do you or. Io v{mr knowledge~ staff working for the press office,, ever
confirm information for the media (ie. Informat~(m which the media
have obtained from other sources) on an "off the record" basis? If so~
please gNe details and explain why this is done,
W~. may give off the record advice about names of h~dJvidua]s who may
have been arrested or involved in an ]ncide~lt when it is pm to ~as by a
journalist and it c!ear tha~ this information is being widel-~, circulated in the
public domain. ’[his is done o~t occasions when confirming this information
strictly off the record would avoid undue concen~Jdistress m individuals
who ma~ be implicated falsely.
For example, j oumalis[S wi!] reg~larly contact us and say that a murder
victhn is beir+g named locally as xxxx. If this was put to us, we would either
confirm or deny this in~brmation: Tills would then :be logged on our
Spotliaht SYStem.
I believe tIl.at tills is enth’ely appropriate
Insofar as applicab!le, what records are kept of the information shared
on am "off the record !. as~s : Are records kept of MI "off the record"
briefings and the information provkled a, them?
We log hfl’ormatio+a that is given on ma loft: the record’ basis by staff in iit:te
Media Team on our Spotlight system,
"42.
What do you understand off the record" to mean in this context? Do+
you believe that membeTs of the media always interpr¢~t it this way? ~s
there scope for the media misunderstanding the ~nt:enti~:ns of the pofice
of’ficcrlpolice staff :member when he!she provides information on an
r+ -- ,
g,S9
oH the record ,ba:~,.+
[ believe: that ~off tile record’ means in t ~is in:sta~~ce that it is inibrmation is
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given to the media that is not to be directly attributed to eitt~er a named
Police indb,4duai or to a Police spokc@~r~:o~a, h~ other words, this is
in.fbrmatiort tt~at is to be provkled as background ttiat isnot R~t’ direct,
attrib:ated quotir, g.
I believe that there is a shared tmde.rstanding between the Police Media
Team m~d t~:~e medi a 1~ ,’cga~ds 1o this type of informatio~ We do i-~ot t~ave
~-,.a,~
any. kind of orlgoi~~g problems or "-.s
..- in regards to misinterpreting this
type of h:i[bmm~ion. In my time a Strathclyde Police we have never tiad to
deal with a situatio~ where infi>rmatio.t~ which was provided o~l an ;off the
~- used in an inappropriate fasl~io~.l. If we did
record! basis has [een
experience inappropriate use ({ Ott’ the record’ material then the media
otltlet in question wotfid not receive such material again.
43~
Wha~ is y ~mr view of the practice of pMice ot’ficcrs and police staff
’’
i record ,’1"
having off~:h~,
ct~mmmficatioriswifl~ lihe media?
My view is that the practice of providing’ off’ the reco~,d in formation to the
media, if properly motivated aad properly recorded, is entirely approp~ate.
As ore.lined in i-lly statement, I believe that incorrect intbmmtioa should,
wherever possible, not be pemdtted to enter into the public, domain, if
backgrour~d, ’off the record’ infonnatiot~ cat~ easare that this is the case,
then it is a practice fl~at I supporL
44.
In your experience, insofar as applicable, wh~re information is
provided on an "tiff the record" basis, do ~he media tend to hotmt~r the
wishes of fl~e person providing
the,,°mfi~rma~mn:.
’ " °~ Pkase g~ve ~l~ustrative
examples,
As demonstrated by the examples provided earlier h~ this statement, the
type of ’off the record° inf;ormafion that we provide tc the media is, i~ the
mai~, factual in%rmatlor~ that is imporlant to the media: I do not believe
that fl~e media set out to purposeiy report thi~gs incorrectly and, as a result,
appreciate tl~e fact that, where we can, we are able to correct informa;tion
that they have that is incorrect.
Agai~., referring to the examples listed above:~ no irfformafion appeared in
print or ori broadcast t|lat referred to police all.okest,~oplc or named police
indivi&als. 1 believe that ttie media do ir~deed respect the person involved
in giving them ’off the record’ basis.
4s.
!n your experience, when police officers/staff ask {he media to deltay
puMishing partictilar i~!formation because of the ri.~k of prej~dkc to a
criminal investigatim~ or future criminal triM, to what extent and ir~
what circumstances d~ the media c~)mp~y wRh the reques~r? Please gi’~e.
i!htstrative exanL~)leso
::Ks stated pi’evio-t~sly, due to the competitive nature or" the media in
Scetland~ tl~ere is always athirst for more inl;brmation and for exchasive
s~.ories. I understated, therefore, teat° a times, it can difficult for the media
ROb S:h<!rff~>t~Se Stateii’.,em [e [;ev<sOc: {l~,{uiry
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to sit (m informatim~ that they know is going to generate either sales or
viewersiff~teners. However, there have been occasions whereby we trove
asked the media not to run with pa.rticl.tlar infi-)rmatior~ and they have
complied with this.
By way of example, during the tim.e when viable explosive devices were
beit~g ................... people i.T~ Sco!:la;~d ]inked 1o Celtic Football Club.
1 asked, at the behest of’the Senior Investigating Officer for the media r~ot to
prim the story for 48 hours in order ;{br us to pursue some investigative
avenues~ Th.is was ml incredibly high profile story, but the media complied
with out" wishes m~d did no~ report it. I thh~k ,hat is evidence of a healthy
working relationship between the Force and the media.
We have also seen. lit’ore time to time. examples whereby threat ~o life
warnings have been issued ~o people and the media have become aware of
i~. We have asked tb.e media not m report it and. providing we ca;~ justify
the mason behind our request, the media ge~.e<,ally accept, this
46.
l[n your experience, when pofice officer/staff ask the media not to
publish p~rtieular inltbrmation at all because of the risk of harm to the
public interest, to what extent and in what drcumstances do ~he media
comply with the reques! ? Please give iRus~rative examples.
The only situation that I have bcer,t involved in durit~g my rune az
Strathclvde Police which woutd perhaps be indicative of this type of
simatio~ would be when informatmn about an alleged bombing campaign
was supplied to the media by a group pmlporting to be a terrorists intent ot-~
using force to break up (he United Kingdom. ]’he information that had been
passed to the media was assessed arid was not deemed to be credible. We.
there.{bre, asked the media not to report it on the basis that tt would give
tl~-~due pL~blicity to the gx,~up and would cause alarm to t:~e public when it
was clear that no such attack was going to take place.
The media complied with this request:
47.
l{~avc Ilierc bcelil ,erasmus
~¯""
where, to your knowledge; the media bare
obtained informathm (front whatever source) and-vt, lanlari!y im~
published the infiwmation because ol’ lhe ha:tin it mig~t do fEhe public
imeresl or the interests of .lustice; P~ease give examples of the
circumstances in which {his has occurred°
I refer to my’ answers to Questions 45 and 461
.48.
What limi{ati¢ms, if any, do you consider there sh{~uld be on police
officers a~d police s~aff leaving the
to w(irk for the media
a~d vice versa ?
[ should stale tha~t we do n0l l~ave sucha culture widain Strathclyde Police.
We do have people in our Media :Ieam who were; at o~e poff~t, joa~:~-miists-howeveri we do not regularly see people leaving us to take ~itpa roe i~ the
R~)i3 S]’i(.’f[hOtl:4(: ~’,[il.".~iiil:i~{ [i;! ].¢\,"D.%’,i’< l!t,:llii~’:
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media m~d vice versa. We do not have a hi4~ turnover of staff.
My own ers~ma] position is that it would not be correct to try ~o place
restrictio~:~s ,:m~.~eoqe’s.t ..... abiliLv to seek employment. If’ people bel~ave
appropriately and in accordance with ~heir job descriptkm and the taw; tt~en
[ do ~ot ee the ¯need to have a restriction like fl~iS in place for s~ich a stTta]]
group of people, I wotild also question the legalib; ot such a move~
49.
In relation to deMing wRh ,the media in generai, :do you consider that
there is a basis for applying differe~t s~andards and rMes ~o pMice staff
from tlmse that apply *to poll~ee officers (¢he la*ter ha’ring ~he power of
t:he o~tice of constable)° l[f so, (i)do you consider that: dif%ren~
standards a~:~d ~!~fles should appiy and (ii) please specify what: y~m
consider the difference ~o be,
t3ere
I do not believe that
] "should be dif{)renl rules for Police staff arid
Po!ice of{~cers. ’3{he public regard everyone w11o works for the Police as
being part ol-" the same tamd,, and, therefbre, I believe that: the same higi!
standards that are appropria*ely’ expected of officers should be expected of
staff.
50.
What is your view o~ ~h~ recommendations ¢~m~ained in fl~ H0 ,~I,[( s
n;thout Fear ~r t,"?;vt~ur" insofar as lhey eoncer~
recent report -uz,
relations between !he media and the police? {If y(u ha..e noi s:ee~ it,
tThe report is availaMe online}.
Throughout my Statemen:t, I have ei~deavoured to make clear that I do not
believe that we have a particular problem with our relationship with the
media, nor do [ believe that we have a culture whereby inappropriate
relationships, or tl3e acceptm~ce of hospitality, are allowed or encouraged,
~[hat being said, it would appear to me thai the H~,lIv_.: recomme;ridations
appear to wisi3 to briilg a level o[ consistm3cv and structure across the
service. This is some’thing that seems entirely positive
51.
What is your view ~f the reemnmenda~ti(ms.
The report mentior~ed in fl3is question deals with an investigation into the
relationship between the Metropolitan Police Service and the Media. I do
aof have any commm~t to make beyond what i have said inmy respo~!.se to
Questio.~ 50.
52,
Do ym~ era, sider tha~ there are different or further steps which could
and/or sh(mld be taken t~) ensure that relati:o~.ships be~tween p(fliee
persmmel and the media re a~d remain appropria~te?
I have r~othing uscfuI to add to ~he Answer to lhis Q:t~estion fi’om my Chief
Constable, Stephen House.
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DOCUMENT REQUEST
I have no additim~ai documeats to supply to tho~c: already provided to tl~e
Inquiry atong witl?, Mr House’s Slateme:m.
Da~ed :
Sig+~ed :
Rob Shorthr]use
Director o!+ Corporate Communications
Stmthclyde Police
Rob Sh{artii~mse SF.~.l~’mef~t ~o ’:_,eva:.~t:m Dquiry
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