NCJ Number
95342
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1984) Pages: 154-178
Date Published
1984
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Two case studies of the media's role in hostagetaking, one occurring in Calgary in 1981 and one in Edmonton in 1982, demonstrate how the media played very different but important roles in both instances.
Abstract
The Calgary incident was deliberately planned by a man angered at the seizure and foreclosure of his business and house. Assisted by his wife and children, he took bailiffs hostage when they came to evict the family, hoping to obtain publicity for his protest against the bank's mortgage policy. Numerous problems arose regarding the hostagetaker's use of the media, cooperation between media and police, and the generally one-sided coverage of the incident from the perspective of the hostagetaker. A couple who heard the broadcast paid off the mortgage, and although the hostagetaker went to prison, he was treated as a folk hero. The situation in Edmonton was quite different. The hostagetaker did not want publicity, as he was attempting to carry out a secret extortion. One of his victims escaped, and when another person called the police, the secret was out. The media became involved because one of the hostages was an Edmonton millionaire with a high public profile. Police requests for the media to be cautious were largely met by television stations, but radio newscasts reported erroneous information and details the police did not want the hostagetaker to know. The hostagetaker did not listen to the radio, but became so upset at watching the television coverage that he talked of suicide. The massive media presence caused perimeter problems and probably contributed to one hostage being wounded as he was released and the hostagetaker captured. In both incidents, the police needed media help to achieve their goals, all hostages and hostagetakers reacted to the broadcast news reports, and there was some postincident activity by the hostages. Lessons to be learned from the two incidents are discussed. One reference is appended.