Imagine you are the law enforcement scene commander at a convenience

store robbery, where the robbers have taken the customers and clerk
hostage.
A local television station is broadcasting the event live through a telephoto
lens, and the robbers are watching the coverage on a television inside the
store. What actions should you take?
Controlling the movement at the crime scene and limiting the number of people
clear to enter the crime scene is essential to maintaining scene integrity,
safeguarding evidence, and minimizing contamination as well as reduce risk of
the new victims in area. As a scene commander I would follow Standard
Operating Procedures established by the law enforcement agency Im
representing and will take control from the initial responding officer.
One of the first steps the scene commander need to take is to define and control
boundaries that will provide a means for protecting and securing the crime scene.
In our particular situation where we have the crime in progress within the
convenience store, where the robbers have taken the customers and clerk
hostage. Under assumptions that robbers are armed and based on the fact that
the maximum range of the M9 Berretta is 1800 m we can establish scene
boundaries far enough in order to protect civilian population. Obviously, for
establishing controlling boundaries we need to take in consideration our
capability to control access to the restricted area, and troop element size
dispatched for control access to the restricted area will be limited factor.
Establishing the boundaries of the scene will allow to control and limit to the
public exposure any tactical moves, as well as served as an effect measures to
preserve and protect evidence that may be lost or compromised.
Upon establishing crime scene boundaries, the scene commander would have to
have to prepare initial statement for the public. At the same time information was
broadcasted on as event on live television, and the robbers are watching the
coverage on a TV inside the store would force a limited information for the public
disclosure. In mostly cases live coverage agreements between law enforcement
agencies will establish voluntary guidelines for the broadcast of live pictures or
information emanating from crime scenes and ongoing crises such as hostage
situations.
For many people, the live mass media reports on TV are the window on the
world. Stories of assaults and kidnappings blasted across headlines and
increasing pubic attention to the broadcast and increasing rating of the channels
based on that reporters will use any opportunity to get live picture from the live
crime scene.
The censorship of the mass media in time of crisis was issue between
government officials and journalists for long time. (White, p. 105) One of the

major legal bases allows mass media to cover government activities is the
Freedom of Information Act.
Enacted on July 4, 1966, and taking effect one year later, the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court,
to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such
records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure by one of nine
exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.
(http://www.foia.gov/about.html) But in the same time according to the
Department of the Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act if a privacy
interest is found to exist, the public interest in disclosure, if any, must be weighed
against the privacy interest in nondisclosure. If no public interest exists, the
information should be protected; as the D.C. Circuit has observed, "something,
even a modest privacy interest, outweighs nothing every time. If there is a public
interest in disclosure that outweighs the privacy interest, the information should
be disclosed; if the opposite is found to be the case, the information should be
withheld.
(Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act, p.419)
Other exceptions established by the Department of the Justice Guide to the
Freedom of Information Act regarding federal employees are involved in law
enforcement, as well as military personnel and Internal Revenue Service
employees stated that by virtue of the nature of their work, protectable privacy
interests in their identities and work addresses. In light of this privacy interest, the
Department of Defense now regularly withholds personally identifying information
about all military and civilian employees with respect to whom disclosure would
"raise security or privacy concerns." For law enforcement personnel in particular,
these privacy interests are generally protected under Exemption 7(C).
(Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act, p.433-434)
These two exceptions possible could be a legal basis for the limitation of the
broadcast from the crime scene, however if we recall live coverage of Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev search TV was broadcasting live actual police work and any tactical
move even those coverage provided advantage to the terrorist and could inform
and alarm him.
The scene commander can use live television coverage to an advantage even
without the cooperation of the station. During the briefing and announcement of
the initial statement to the public as well as with follow up updates scene
commander may solicit media personnel regarding a "public request for
assistance" on behalf of the law enforcement department. The information could
be announce: the character or nature of the assistance or information being
sought; point of contacts with the name of the person or department and their
phone numbers; promise of granting of anonymity, upon request, to the person
providing the assistance or information; any monetary rewards for information or
assistance that results in situation resolution or provided advance knowledge of

the criminals.
The media is similar to the loaded gun lying on the street; the first person to pick
up got to choose how to use it. (White p.90) Terrorists recognise the power of
the media and often try to use it in their advantage in order to get public attention
and limit law enforcement options. In case of the terrorist demands to speak
upfront the camera you can start negotiating options in order to use any delays in
your advantage. Other tactical advantage to sent camera in the convenience
store is to get better intel regarding hostages and robbers, their number and
locations inside the building. However in my opinion sending TV crew inside the
building in order to negotiate the hostage situation in the media is not the best
option because it simply could increase numbers of hostages, and give an option
to the robbers have extra leverage over the law enforcement in the public eye.