There, that wasn't so hard, was it? At least if you're not one of the staffers at city hall who actually had to change all those computer codes to get a stream of automatic, time-delayed police dispatches on Little Rock's official website.
At last the public will get the public information it's entitled to. Even with a time delay and other complications necessary to protect cops in the midst of serving and protecting all of us.
Ever since the end of July, when the local police department stopped broadcasting its radio communications, complaints--not to mention lawsuits--have been coming in from folks who want to know about heavy traffic and a lot more troubling problems in their neighborhood, like a serious crime. Or just folks who want to know what's going on in their town, the way good citizens should. That last category includes the press, which felt blindsided when it could no longer do its job the way a free and vigilant press should.
So a number of different and perfectly legitimate interests had to be considered as city hall scrambled to correct its original mistake, which was to leave the rest of us in the dark about what the cops were up to.
Now a welcome compromise, or at least the beginnings of one, has started to take shape, thanks to all concerned. It's assuring to see basically reasonable people act reasonably, even if it took an uneasy while. Thanks to all those who took the lead when it came to doing what needed to be done. Some time ago.
Yes, more needs to be done. "I think it's a good start," to quote one city director--B. J. Wyrick--who went on to note that there's still "some action that's taking place out there, and people are not going to be able to protect themselves." Another city director, Lance Hines, summed up the new system when he said, "It's better than what we have" now. But as any newspaperman knows, keeping the public informed is a job, and duty, that's never finished. Hopeful as this new start is, let's not confuse it with a finish.
Editorial on 09/30/2014