Crime reporting pedantry

[snopes]

I know that, to avoid libel issues, the news media have to be careful about how they report crime stories involving people who have been arrested but not yet tried or convicted. Thus they typically use terms such as "allegedly" in crime reports in order to avoid making direct statements of fact about suspects' guilt. However, I've noticed the news media have become so sloppy about this aspect of reporting that they now often produce headlines and sentences that are inaccurate or downright nonsensical.

Here are a couple of examples from today:

Woman charged with allegedly having sex with minor

No, the woman in question was not charged with "allegedly having sex with minor"; she was charged with "having sex with a minor." Whether the allegations that led to the charges are true or not is another matter. "Woman charged with having sex with minor" is a perfectly serviceable headline.

Hee Orama, 34, was arrested after police said she recently made frequent calls to 911 complaining about a man lying to her about marrying her.

No, the woman in question was not arrested "after police said she recently made frequent calls to 911"; she was arrested, and then police said she had recently made frequent calls to 911. The sentence should read:

Hee Orama, 34, was arrested after, police said, she recently made frequent calls to 911 complaining about a man lying to her about marrying her.

- or -

Hee Orama, 34, was arrested after she recently made frequent calls to 911 complaining about a man lying to her about marrying her, police said.

[Esprise Me]

I remember seeing a headline once, over a photo of a gunshot victim, to the effect of "Person X allegedly shot by Person Y." I've always wondered, since it's obvious that Person X was shot, shouldn't it read, "Person X shot, allegedly by Person Y"?

[Johnny Slick]

I think it has to do with the lack of individual reporting by stations nowadays. If someone comes out and says "Mark Johnson* eats puppies and likes it", other stations aren't going to go see if that story is true themselves, they're going to post their own news story that says "WKTA in Nashville reports that Mark Johnson eats puppies and like it". So on top of the libel angle, when you deliver bad news everyone knows that it was your station that delivered it (and there is surprisingly little reciprocity for a news agency that works hard on its own investigations, other than the tacit agreement that they can freely cannibalize other stations' news stores).

OTOH there is no excuse for bad editing.

*Made up name.

[Jay Temple]

Here I was trying to figure out what the crime of pedantry is. It's when you do ... er, what, exactly? ... to a minor.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Jay Temple

Here I was trying to figure out what the crime of pedantry is. It's when you do ... er, what, exactly? ... to a minor.

No, that's pederasty. Pedantry is showin' off all yer book-lernin.

[Stan The Man]

From today's shooting in Orlando...

Asked by a reporter why he allegedly committed the crime, Rodriguez, escorted by police, said, "They left me to rot."

[katdixo]

I find it annoying when they use the word "suspect" inappropriately. If you are talking about a specific person that the police are investigating, then that person is a suspect. But if you are just describing the crime and no specific person has been accused, then you do not need to call the perpetrator a suspect.

For example, "suspect" is appropriate here: "The woman said that a teenage boy approached her and snatched her purse. Police have a suspect in custody."

It is not appropriate here: "The woman said that a teenage boy approached her. The suspect then snatched her purse and ran. Police have no leads."

[hoitoider]

I've always wondered about the phrase "the suspect was sentenced."

Presumably someone isn't sentenced until they are found guilty. Of course it's proper to say "the suspect pled guilty" or "the suspect was found guilty". But to me once that happens then they are a robber or rapist or whatever, even if they plan an appeal.

[katdixo]

Originally Posted by hoitoider

I've always wondered about the phrase "the suspect was sentenced."

Presumably someone isn't sentenced until they are found guilty. Of course it's proper to say "the suspect pled guilty" or "the suspect was found guilty". But to me once that happens then they are a robber or rapist or whatever, even if they plan an appeal.

Yes, I was also annoyed during the Unabomber trial when some news outlets referred to him as the "Unabomber suspect." To me, "suspect" implies someone who hasn't been charged. By the time you're on trial, I think you're something a bit more than a suspect. "Accused" or "defendant" would be fine. (And some news outlets did use those terms during the Unabomber trial.)

[geminilee]

Originally Posted by katdixo

But if you are just describing the crime and no specific person has been accused, then you do not need to call the perpetrator a suspect.

Not only is there no need, it does not apply. Until there is someone that you suspect, you cannot have a suspect. In the second example, a suspect does not exist, only a perpetrator.

[Canuckistan]

Originally Posted by katdixo

To me, "suspect" implies someone who hasn't been charged. By the time you're on trial, I think you're something a bit more than a suspect. "Accused" or "defendant" would be fine.

That's true. But they're still a suspect, until they're convicted. So I don't think there's anything wrong with referring to someone as such.

(This is especially true in the writing phase, to avoid overusing defendant and accused in any one story).

[Beldaran]

One of the things that annoys me is the overuse of last names and pronouns, especially when talking about a family where they have the same last name.
See this article. His father shot, Hudson, Wis., teen blamed himself
It took me at least 3 read throughs to figure out who shot whom, who broke into "his family's home", who voluntarily checked into the hospital and who was suicidal.

The horrors of Oct. 17 did not end for Zachary Christenson that night.

Christenson and three friends had cowered terrified in the basement of his Hudson, Wis., home as his drunken father went on a shooting rampage, police say. They escaped before the father, Daniel Christenson, was wounded after firing at police.

But in the days afterward, Zachary Christenson blamed himself for his father being shot, police said. Off his medications, the bipolar 19-year-old would talk about suicide.

On Oct. 29, he broke into his family's locked home. A relative told police Christenson was threatening suicide, police said. He eventually led officers on a chase through Twin Cities suburbs before checking himself into a hospital for psychiatric care.

[katdixo]

Here is a real example of the misuse of "suspect," from the department of public safety at my work:

"On October 27, 2009, at 12:23 a.m., two students and a friend were robbed while walking on XXX Street. Two suspects approached the victims and demanded their property. Money and a cell phone were taken from the victims. Two of the victims were struck by the suspects. The victims declined medical attention. MPD was notified, responded, and searched the area for the suspects."

[Tom o' Bedlam]

Originally Posted by katdixo

Two suspects approached the victims and demanded their property. Money and a cell phone were taken from the victims. Two of the victims were struck by the suspects. The victims declined medical attention. MPD was notified, responded, and searched the area for the suspects."

Suspects are notoriously shady, especially towards victims. The victims should have crossed the street and taken another route the minute they saw there were suspects around.

[pob14]

Originally Posted by snopes

Woman charged with allegedly having sex with minor

No, the woman in question was not charged with "allegedly having sex with minor"; she was charged with "having sex with a minor."

That would make my job a whole lot easier. "Ladies and gentlemen, we intend to prove that somebody said the defendant committed a crime!"

I seem to recall a Bob and Ray parody of Dragnet: "The suspect was apprehended, and charged with three counts of being apprehended and four counts of being a suspect."