Symbiotic linkage |
THE media, especially social media, is a powerful tool for accountability, pushing police leadership to demonstrate and uphold transparency, fairness and human rights. The media here often shows the police as violators, instead of protectors, of human rights — a reality that needs appraisal. Policing here reflects a colonial past, while the media has waged a long struggle for freedom. As democracy evolved, the influence of independent media grew. The media gave the police more time and space. Together, they could have educated the public, devised a crime-terrorism prevention strategy and improved the police’s image, but failed to do so. Had the police enjoyed a positive image, more financial resources would have been allocated to policing.
But the police’s affection for a colonial past limits their role to that of a force instead of a public service. Sensational coverage of the police by the media as a tool of indiscriminate force erodes public trust. The public is given the impression that the police lack professionalism, which may not be entirely true. In a crisis, when there’s an information blackout, police media managers should provide at least some information to the media. The absence of a media policy and trained........