Investigating Those Who Protect: Police, Fire, Ambulances and Other First Responders
Mike Mansur and Ron Nixon
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Cops and firefighters provide the kinds of stories that fill the inside pages of newspapers – but investigations into what’s going on behind the scenes at the “cop shop” or station house can make the front page.
Ron Nixon of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Mike Mansur of the Kansas City Star said that the small details that a beat reporter comes across every day can grow into huge stories – with the right mixture of hard work and creative use of documents. The discussion “Investigating Those Who Protect,” came as part of the Western Knight Center’s four-day seminar “Going Beyond the Agenda: Investigating Local Government.”
When it comes to investigating first responders, “it’s often the obvious stuff – the stuff you see every day – that turns into these great [investigative] projects,” Nixon said.
Both reporters said that all investigative reporters who cover first responders should look into:
- Officer-involved shootings
- Forced confessions
- Asset forfeitures
- Pensions
- Moonlighting
- Racial/ethnic profiling
- Overtime pay
“I just looked at a cop in Minneapolis who made $78,000 in overtime last year,” Nixon said.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I would love to make $78,000 in overtime; in fact, I’d love to make $78,000 period.”
Mansur and Nixon also urged checking out the clearance rates on major crimes.
“These are huge because there’s pressure to get the rates up—to solve murders, rapes and things like that,” Nixon said.
“The pressure to solve these crimes often leads to police downgrading them and saying they weren’t really as serious as they appeared.”
Both reporters said that when it comes to investigating fire departments, the same techniques, material and data that apply to the police apply to firefighters. Compelling stories can often come out of research involving shift selling, response times and local emergency planning committees.
“These committees are made up of people in the communities and members of the fire department,” Nixon said.
“They keep tons of documents on things like hazardous materials in the community and risk management plans.”
These reports became harder to find online after 9/11, Nixon said, but if reporters go to http://www.ombwatch.org, they can still gain access to them.
The plans outline the risks a given community faces if something goes wrong and what steps authorities are taking to prevent such disasters.
Nixon and Mansur said that investigative reporters should always keep a list of the following databases handy:
- Uniform Crime Reports
- National Fire Incident Systems
- Incident Reports
- Court Records (Criminal and Civil)
- 911 Calls
- Budgets
- Payroll and Salary Records
- Audits
- Take Home Vehicles
- Daily Log Sheets
- Vehicle Maintenance Records
- Workers Compensation Documents
- Expense Records
- Union Contracts
- Sick leave and Comp Time
- Daily Activity Reports
- Search Warrants
- Driving Records
- Homeland Security Funding
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