JAIL: There's no place like it

I never imagined that one day I would be going to jail. No cell phones, keys, or electronics of any kind allowed. I have to admit, the idea of visiting Orient Road Jail was intriguing and a little nerve racking, especially when I was led pass a group of inmates decorated in orange jumpsuits. Today, my Public Affairs Reporting class stopped in with Orient Road Jail to learn more about obtaining public records.

Our first stop on the tour was the brains of the facility: operations. The deputies assigned to operations are in charge of keeping a close eye on all of the camera monitors throughout the facility. They control who goes in and out of the facility by allowing access through the locked doors.  Orient Jail processes 77,000 inmates per year, most of whom are repeat offenders. The jail logs every moment of deputies and inmates through the use of surveillance cameras.Inmates are housed in pods not cells and with a one deputy to 72 inmate ratio the use of video surveillance has helped keep the facility under control. For the eager journalist or curious civilian, all video captured in the facility are public record unless a specific video is being used as evidence. 

Orient is also one of the few facilities in Hillsborough County that is not over crowded. With safety measures being the high priority of the facility, jail administrators have come up with a few creative ways to allow media access to high profile cases such as Dontae Morris, who is accused of murdering two Hillsborough county officers. Inside the jail's very own courtroom are two cameras mounted on the ceiling to allowed direct media coverage of inside the courtroom. The facility then feeds the footage to all media outlets requesting it. In some extraordinary instances the jail may also allow one camera crew into tight areas as long as they agree to feed the footage to any news outlet requesting the shots.

I appreciate our tour guide Lieutenant Allen and Lieutenant Downy. They and the other officers at the facility do an amazing job keeping control of those who may have broken the law.

HSCO

My class recenty went on a field trip to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office. They provided us class with  information on how they operate and what we should look for as journalist to get information for a story.

Public records are a vital part of a good journalist's career but knowing where to look is an even more important aspect of our jobs. J. D Callaway, Director of Communication, and Crystal Burmudez helped us learn more. We sat in a quaint conference room as Callaway and Burmudez explained what to look for in the records provided by the office.

With a three per day minimum journalist have free range to locate charge reports, face sheets, criminal affidavits and more. Criminal affidavits are public record and can be obtained at the jail, however more detailed information is available once a prosecutor files charges at the courthouse which can take weeks depending on the crime. The HCSO holds public in their computer systems dating back to 1996. Reporters can use the charge reports which list an arrested person's name, address, current employer, and arrest locations to build a solid foundation for any story. Callaway explained step by step the best way to explore a strong story. He advised my class to first gather information online, the obtain the arrest affidavit from the jail, before heading to the location of the incident and talking with witnesses. Taking the steps to gather information properly prepares us to ask the important question to neighbors, friends, and family regarding the arrestee.

I learned that there is so much paperwork filed in all types of incidents. Traffic reports are with held from public records for six months after an accident occurs, eight page DUI reports are filed in which an officer may arrest an impaired individual without reading Miranda rights, and when a warrant is a served the person arrested is entitled to see all the documents the state has against them.

Investigative Reporters: Friend or Foe?

 Investigative reporters help to keep the public informed and are the reason that some rules and regulations are changed. By bringing more public awareness to wrongful doings investigative reporters are almost a vital resource to media outlets.

Investigative editor for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, Matt Doig, spoke with my Public Affairs class at USF today. He, along with a small team of reporters for the Herald Tribune may investigate a story for months until they gather all the necessary data to report the story to the public.

When asked about his interview style, Doig has a simple, yet effective response: find a common ground. His advice caught my attention because I currently work for an automobile insurance company and a key technique supervisor would like us to utilize is finding a “common ground" with every customer we talk to. My job is based over the phone so we are taught to listen to the background listen for a dog or ask how that particular customer's day is going. Doig says interviewing is the best part of his job and people tend to open up to him because he uses the technique of finding a common ground with those he interviews.

An important part of investigative reporting is using public record to uncover the truth. Investigators at The Herald pulled every real estate transaction in the state’s book for the past decade during an investigation of real estate fraud. Using a database, they were able to connect 55,000 cases of potential real estate fraud. Due to their willingness to dig deep into public record to come up with irrefutable proof, the Feds has names Florida as the number one state for housing fraud in the country. Reporting this type of information to the public helps people not fall victim to fraud by knowing what warning signs to look for.

The investigative team at the Sarasota Herald knows firsthand the power that can come out of database reporting. As I continue in my Public Affairs I hope to also understand how to use public records to build powerful stories that keeps the public informed.

Tim Nickens Visit

I enjoyed Tim Nicken visit to our class on Monday. He gave a lot of examples of where the Sunshine Law has been useful in reporting.

What stuck with me the most was Nickens advise of not being afraid to ask questions. I think that one of the most important things he could have left us with. When reviewing public files I know that I may not understand exactly what I am looking at. It's very comforting when a professional in the journalism field gives us the advise of not being afraid to ask what something means.

Being able to follow a paper trial and understanding what you are looking for is also important for a good journalist. Nicken gave the advise of knowing where to look. I was surprise when e is a lot of information out there and if we don't know where or how to find information of lot of vital time could be wasted. By following a paper trail or having documented evidence of   what we are looking for can help us built a strong story and in some cases if someone refuses to talk to us, we can built a story base solely from public record.

A good example that Nickens gave us is when a public official had 6 millions dollars in there budget for a classroom building. After a reporter pulled the public records for the building plan and found out that the money was going toward a private runway at an airport. I think public records are necessary to keep those in power from going  a stray. I know that not every person in power does not start out being greedy or doing things wrong to benefit themselves but reality is that it does turn out that way from quite a few. The Sunshine Laws are very important and I way a little surprised to find out that Florida has some of the strictest Sunshine Laws. I find strict public records laws necessary in all states.