COOPERATION LACKING AT SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

It's a tough job being a law enforcement officer these days.

Not only do you have to deal with all those criminals, but you have to deal with the press and the public's right to know.

Law enforcement officials can no longer conduct business behind closed doors. Some sheriff's departments in Southeast Missouri seem to understand that better than others.

In Bollinger County, newly elected Sheriff Dan Mesey has gone out of his way to inform the press and the public about criminal activity in the county. He has taken a professional approach to the job that reflects his big-city law enforcement background.

In Scott County, Sheriff Bill Ferrell has had good rapport with reporters. That's because he has a system in place where reporters don't have to wait to catch the sheriff to find out information about crimes. They can readily talk to Scott County deputies and, in particular, his cooperative chief deputy.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department is also very open and responsive to the media. In the course of a week, the newspaper may quote a handful of different officers or officials from the Cape Police.

That's not the case in Cape Girardeau County, where virtually all information has to come directly from Sheriff Norman Copeland.

Such a system might be understandable in an isolated rural area, where there are few crimes. But it makes no sense in Cape Girardeau County, which is on the verge of becoming a first-class county.

We realize the sheriff cannot be expected to be at the beck and call of reporters. Granted, his chief deputy is allowed to talk to the press, but he follows the lead of the sheriff and typically releases less than adequate information in an often untimely manner.

This newspaper nightly checks with the sheriff's department, as is done with other law enforcement agencies in the region, for any crime news. More often than not, we are alerted to incidents in Cape Girardeau County by other law enforcement agencies and not the sheriff's department. His dispatchers routinely tell us all is quiet even when that's not the case.

The system seems structured to put barriers in the way of reporters who simply are trying to do their job and inform the public about crimes that have occurred.

In a recent murder in the Whitewater area, Copeland refused to let reporters talk to the head of the Major Case Squad, comprised of officers from several law enforcement agencies. The squad was involved in investigating the murder.

The sheriff was clearly upset when a reporter tried to talk to other members of the case squad. But had he allowed the press to talk to the head of the squad, such phone calls probably would have been unnecessary.

In past investigations with other departments, the press has had access to the head of the Major Case Squad. That decision is apparently left up to the law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the crime occurs. The current Major Case Squad head is also a member of the sheriff's department, so it was easy for the sheriff to control the release of any additional information.

Last week, a man was arrested for brandishing a gun on a Greyhound bus. Information about the crime was readily disclosed by the Cape Girardeau Police. But the man was subsequently transferred to the Cape Girardeau County Jail, where a member of the sheriff's department refused to say if the man had posted bond and been released.

When the sheriff was called at home that night by a reporter who sought to obtain the information, the sheriff said he didn't know if the man had bonded out and curtly stated that such information could only be made available between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Crimes don't just occur during regular business hours, and neither does the news. Reporters should not have to jump through hoops just to get basic information such as whether someone is in custody or has bonded out.

There are officers on duty at the sheriff's office 24 hours a day. Surely, it's not asking too much to have someone on duty on any shift who could release such basic information.

The sheriff must understand that the media does not want to interfere with crime investigations, but to report the facts in a timely fashion. This philosophy has worked well with other neighboring law enforcement agencies. The media and law enforcement should work together to inform the public of county crime. We should be partners in the process, not adversaries.

Unfortunately, the lack of cooperation is nothing new and has existed since Copeland took office. The newspaper has repeatedly tried to foster better relations with the sheriff's department, but such overtures have fallen on deaf ears. It's a shame. In a county that prides itself on open government, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's office leaves much to be desired.