Photo: crash71100

An explanation from the online editorial team

We like to explain our work, which is sometimes difficult for laypeople to understand. RTL.lu has done a wonderful job there, e.g. in the article in which they explain why they are practically forced to post photos of crashed cars online, due to freedom of the press and a dead child lying on the beach. Here is a LINK.

We are regularly asked why we copy police reports. We are also asked why we do not at least indicate that the news we publish is copied police reports.

Such questions often come from people who have „read the press code“ or from people who do not trust the police as blindly as we do. If this is the case for you, then allow us to first question your judgment. You are probably just angry with the police again because they checked you because of your skin color, suspected you because of your origin, were bothered by your young age or did not take you seriously because of your gender. These are emotional exceptional circumstances, for which we of course have complete understanding. For the editorial staff too, news about police killings is not news that you should ignore or deal with lightly. It is not information like any other. Nevertheless, we want to do our duty even in such situations.

So why do we systematically copy police reports without questionning them?

The general public has a right to know, and police officers have a duty to inform. So no, wait, journalists have a duty to inform. And the operators of websites that compete with other websites have a duty to be faster, to generate more clicks and thus make more profit through advertising. So if a police report sounds exciting, outrageous or just so that our public would click on it for fun, then we have to bring it.

The police are not only well informed about the incidents they report in their reports, but are even involved in them. A number of cases in the past have shown that the police are prepared to distort, falsify or even omit information in their reports in case of doubt. A number of studies also show that the view of police officers is one-sided and shaped by stereotypes. If an incident occurs, it is therefore up to the court and not the police to determine what happened. But that takes time! And we consumers have a right to know what’s going on. And now.

This is where RTL1 comes into play. If something happens where the police might be at fault, we let it slide. Of course, we invoke the presumption of innocence and act as if the press had no right to expose wrongdoing and crimes before a court has decided on the matter. It is not up to the press to control the state. It is up to the press to criticize those the state criticizes. And we can do that at least as well as the police. As the press, we have the great advantage of being seen as a kind of independent authority. So if we copy the police report and – without revealing it – publish it as news, then the police’s portrayal looks as if we were the press on the spot and reporting our own observations.

- What criteria are there when copying police reports? The press code applies to RTL1 journalists. The following article could be an obstacle here:

„Art. 8 of the presentation of information […] b) Press releases and other official communications must be clearly identified as such to avoid any confusion with journalistic work. Journalists undertake to sign only the contributions they have designed with their own names.“

But can the RTL1 online editorial team be excused from their work by such an article? Of course not. The rules of the press council only apply to journalism - to newspaper sites and journalists. For this reason, regular employees also work at RTL1. They do not have to comply with the strict requirements of journalistic quality criteria. So when we copy police reports, we as authors simply write „RTL1“ under the article and we’re done.

- What does our work look like in practice? Here is an example of a police bulletin that is sent to the press like this. This time, in semi-readable German. The RTL team first checks the social relevance and news value. Basically, it doesn’t matter how this check turns out, the site has to be filled and police news with a blue-light feeling always goes down well. Next, the individual aspects of the information are checked. Why did two people have to leave the stairwell? Did they really have a knife with them or did the guard perhaps let one slip so that he could call the police? Why did the police launch a manhunt, when were the police called in the first place and how did the situation with the knife threat actually resolve itself? Did the police actually encounter the same person the next day? Did they have the knife with them? What does „aggressive behavior“ mean and was it really necessary to „immobilize“ the man on the ground? On what grounds was the man arrested and imprisoned? These are questions that no one asks themselves - we should all be much happier that the police have once again done a good job and that our streets are now safer, having blocked off such a dangerous gang. That is why we in the „editorial“ department decided to translate this news into Luxembourgish, find an action-packed tagline for it and put it online, Source: RTL.

Police bulletin: Arrest after threats with knives and rebellion against police officers

„On the evening of 10.12.2023, an incident was reported to the police in a parking garage on rue du Fort Wedell in Luxembourg City. After a parking guard had asked two people to leave the stairwell of the parking garage, one of the people had threatened him with a knife. A subsequent search by the police initially turned out to be negative, but on the following day a person who matched the description of the perpetrator could be found. When the suspect was to be brought to the duty station, however, he began to behave extremely aggressively towards the police officers, which is why he had to be immobilized on the ground. The man was arrested on the orders of the public prosecutor and brought before the investigating judge. He issued an arrest warrant.“

RTL.lu: Immobilized and arrested: Rebellion against police officers and threat with knife against a parking garage guard

„On Sunday evening, there was an incident in a parking garage on rue du Fort Wedell in the city. A guard in a parking garage asked two people to leave the stairwell, whereupon one of the two people threatened the guard with a knife. In an initial phase, the police were unable to identify the wanted person. However, the following day, a person matching the description was found. When the suspect was to be brought to the police station, he behaved quite aggressively towards the officer and had to be immobilized as a result. He was arrested on the orders of the prosecutor’s office and had an appointment with the investigating judge, who issued an arrest warrant.“