ONE OF the big lessons from the Mumbai terror attacks last November was that inept handling of media coverage could cripple response efforts. So kudos to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for the unprecedented move of roping in the media as role-players in one of the Exercise Northstar VII scenarios.
Our brief: To "stress test" the officers in the aftermath of the early-morning carnage wrought by three gunmen armed with automatic weapons at Siloso beach.
We were to stretch these officers' information management skills to the limits. We were free to fish for details by all means necessary: Assail them with questions, trying to sneak behind police cordons ... In short, police-media rules were thrown out the window.
How well did the SPF handle this news-gathering frenzy?
The aim of the exercise, according to assistant director of operations planning Superintendent Devrajan Bala, was to find out how to work with the media in managing similar future situations. So, in that spirit, here are some suggestions.
- Describe the crisis accurately. A police spokesperson told reporters that after their rampage, the gunmen had fled to nearby hotel Rasa Sentosa.
The situation, he added, was "under control" and hotel guests were not being evacuated as they were "not in imminent danger".
Considering that the three armed men at large had just left a trail of 10 dead and 20 injured, this statement was hard to swallow. Would you find it reassuring, if you were a guest wondering if you might end up as a terrorist's hostage?
If the police have reason to be confident of keeping the public out of harm's way, they could be more forthcoming with explanations without compromising operations. If the aim was to prevent panic, well, wouldn't this rate as a situation where knowing the danger is better than not knowing?
- Keep the public updated, ASAP. While the assault on Sentosa was taking place, other groups of terrorists were to have launched attacks in downtown areas.
In such a situation, it would seem best to disseminate as much information as possible in real time updates, so that the public has timelywarning.
A police spokesperson yesterday did not provide any other details beyond confirming that other locations were hit. There was no advisory for people to keep away from these areas - a critical precaution, one would think.
- Share details, tap the public. Sure, information such as where the terrorists could be hiding out cannot be made public for obvious security reasons. But details that will not thwart security agencies' operations - how the terrorists came into the country, the status of the injured, for example - are things the public would want to know.
It might even prompt eyewitnesses to come forward with crucial leads in the manhunt. Think of how the public was given details and pictures of Mas Selamat Kastari, ensuring more eyes and ears on the ground.
All this being said, the officers managing the incident site acted professionally throughout - even when we "naughty" journalists (as one officer later quipped) ignored all protocol - I slipped past the cordon into the attack site to speak to survivors. The officer who hustled me away was never rude.
It is also a mark of how vital media-police dynamics can be in such situations, that the SPF will hold a review after Exercise Northstar VII concludes on July 15, to get the media's feedback on yesterday's exercise.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment