BitDepth#1461

Mark Lyndersay

EARLIER this year, former SBCS lecturer in media Abbigail Ajim successfully defended her thesis for a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Leicester.

The subject? The mediatisation of local policing, an 80,000 word analysis of how the TT Police Service (TTPS) first engaged, then wholeheartedly embraced telling its own story.

Ajim shared the key findings from her thesis for review.

From the perspective of the senior leadership of the police service under CoP James Philbert in 2009, the enhancement of the TTPS Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) was an opportunity to change the pervasive narrative of a police service overwhelmed by rising crime.

The mediatisation of the TTPS began, in Ajim's thesis, after Crime Watch, an independent crime reporting show, managed to win approval from Philbert to accompany officers and feature them speaking on behalf of the service.

The resulting productions, Ajim posits, "lifted the veil of secrecy around policing activities through the seductive use of actuality or 'real' footage which can be mistaken for cinema-verité because of its lack of a script or paid actors."

In these airings of police activities, she writes, officers "use violence and dispense the law fairly, swiftly and competently."

This mutually beneficial relationship ended when host Ian Alleyne contested a political seat in October 2013.

CoP Dwayne Gibbs did not approve a proposed replacement, so it wasn't until 2014, under the second term of CoP Stephen Williams, that Beyond the Tape was launched.

This new programme benefited from the experience of Inspector Alexander, who would be a presence on the show until February, when current CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher, expressing concerns about the show, removed him as co-host.

But over this period, after almost 15 years of continuous broadcasting of police-managed information about crime, the TTPS had acquired an awareness of the power of media, broadcasting and widespread communication.

The TTPS also established its own audiovisual unit (AVU) in 2016 under Williams, following early efforts under Hilton Guy.

In 2018, the TTPS amplified its outreach with officers operating as "media ambassadors." Ten to 15 officers at the rank of sergeant were trained to appear on radio and television to speak on behalf of the TTPS.

Just two decades before, the only statements from the service were either delivered by or on behalf of the CoP, so this constituted another evolutionary change in police communications.

The media ambassador's role was desirable not just for exposure, but for the grooming for advancement it appeared to represent.

One ambassador interviewed by Ajim explained, "The role of the ambassador takes priority, except you have to go to court or something else that is more pressing."

Ajim notes that these expanding roles seem to create an imbalance in the journalism process. Hosts and presumably reporters identified as difficult by either being combative or unwilling to stick to TTPS talkin