LIHU‘E — The voicemail messages I retrieve after covering the morning calendar at 5th Circuit court are sometimes from callers who are concerned about their names showing up in the arrest log printed in TGI. There are two sides to
LIHU‘E — The voicemail messages I retrieve after covering the morning calendar at 5th Circuit court are sometimes from callers who are concerned about their names showing up in the arrest log printed in TGI.
There are two sides to this issue, but in the end the community good of the listing wins out over circumstances of individuals.
The arrest logs are a routine of the crime and courts reporter. We type them up after visiting the Kaua‘i Police Department a couple of times a week and talking to Senior Clerk Michael Lane.
The information is kept in a clipboard with printouts of arrests that list the date, time, charge, name, age, gender, home of residence, arresting officer, bail status and a couple of other categories that are more useful to police and prosecutors than to a newspaper report.
We arrange them with just the basic information from the arrest. Cases are later covered in court if the case is of community interest.
A caller who fears their name showing up in the arrest report may say a job is in jeopardy, or that the arrest was in error. Others want to tell their whole side of the story.
Obviously, if it was a wrongful arrest, or more likely a detention that was not officially an arrest, the name can be removed from the newspaper arrest log. We are often told this is the case by a caller, but this has proved to be true just once in the past year.
It is painful to hear the testimony about how someone’s arrest came about. Sometimes it is told with embellishment and other times it is a sincere tale of circumstances leading to bad choices, raw deals, or a wrong-place, wrong-time scenario.
In years past, if a name appeared in the arrest log it was more or less old news the next day. It took some diligence and a trip to the library or the court records to research a name. Today, it’s just a Google search away.
The Internet postings make it possible for anyone’s name to show up in a newspaper keyword search. It’s a lasting legacy that is perhaps a downfall of virtual permanence.
That type of exposure would seem to do more harm than good once a person has paid their fine, or done their time and probation. It gives one pause to think about families and privacy.
However, there are other calls that remind me of the community good, and of the role of police and the criminal justice system. These are calls from victims and witnesses who reported suspicious activity and wanted to find out if there was an arrest and who were the suspects.
Yes, it’s innocent until proven guilty, but the arrest logs play a role in affirming the follow-through of police regarding complaints from citizens. It is a way to know that something was done.
The arrest log is also a sort of data tool. It says what kind of crimes are occurring and where.
Anyone who reads them does not need to be told that drugs and domestic abuse are leading crime issues.
It’s good to weigh in on the issue as the arrest log is an evolving thing.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
