A man was found climbing through a bedroom window to a Hillside Avenue resident’s house on March 16, around 9 a.m. The officers responded when the resident called and said she heard something at a bedroom window. When the police confronted the man, he ran away. The man is described to be 40-years-old, bald with a red and gray beard, medium build and wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.
Another attempted burglary was reported last Tuesday on Highland Avenue. Police responded when the house alarm went off. They found a window that had been forced open by an unknown suspect.
On March 20, officers saw a car accident at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue. When the car that caused the accident didn’t stop and left the scene heading towards Belleville Avenue, police pulled the car over. A passenger had and open container of alcohol in the back seat. Officers also found the driver to be in possession of illegally obtained prescription drugs. Both people in the car were arrested. The people in the car that was hit were reported to have no injuries.
“The man is described to be 40-years-old, bald with a red and gray beard, medium build and wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.”
actually the suspect was described as:
The suspect is described as a white male, 40 years of age, of medium build and bald with a red and gray beard. The man was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/88874422_Glen_Ridge__Police_blotter__March_25.html
“When the police confronted the man, he ran away.”
Really? And did they run after him?
ROC, I’ve also found it odd that the crime items on this site only seem to omit the suspect’s race if he/she is white. Are we supposed to assume that white is the default unless we’re told otherwise?
It would be more helpful if suspect race/complexion/any other major features and characteristics were explicitly included across the board. I assume these descriptions are intended to help people recognize someone they may know or see, no?
I have not noticed a pattern of this Kate. Which other time are you speaking about?
I can’t recall a specific example, but I remember at least a couple of times in the last few months when I’ve had to read back through something because the suspect’s race had been omitted. They stuck in my mind because it seemed odd. I realize that’s nebulous, but it’ll have to do for now…
No disrespect, but I think you are mistaken.
Don’t have time to check it out–it’s entirely possible!
I have noticed this too. And I hope if they find the suspect, Baristanet will post the most unflattering mug shot possible.
No disrespect to you ROC but katebirdrex is not mistaken. It happens often on this site that when the suspect is black, it is mentioned and often there is a mug shot. If the suspect is white, the reporting is not as biased.
One example.
As reported on Baristanet:
Feb. 28: A woman reported a man exposing his penis to two 14-year-old children at Claremont and Midland Avenues around 3 p.m.
The woman said while she was driving on Claremont Ave., she noticed an overweight man dressed in a blue and yellow Nautica jacket, around 50-years-old, salt and pepper hair, wearing sweatpants, approach a boy and a girl.
As reported in the Montclair Times:
The driver told investigators she was headed westbound up Claremont Avenue when she noticed a heavy-set white man, who was wearing a navy, yellow and white Nautica jacket, pull down his sweatpants and expose his private parts to the victims, who appeared to be both in their early teens.
Thanks for the reality check, jbs and 52yrs. I usually try to back up my impressions with actual info, but I’ve been way too scattered today.
52yrs, the example you posted was one that I had to go back and re-read when it was originally posted because I found it confusing. I guess I automatically form a general mental picture of someone when I’m reading an item like this, and when the reporter provides so much detail about clothing, build, etc. and then fails to mention the suspect’s approximate complexion, that’s a pretty big hole in the story.
Kristie, if you happen to read this–I’ve noticed that you post a lot of the police blotter items, maybe this is something to be more aware of? I don’t know if it’s an intentional policy or just an inconsistency, but it’s confusing and could unintentionally come across as biased.
Well, in this case the red & gray beard (what’s that, salt + chiles?) pretty much nails it.
The flasher story is a bit different, I’ll grant you that. Also, how did B-net pick up on the salt & pepper hair when the MT didn’t?
I dunno, crank–I’ve met a few black guys over the years who had red hair. Not common, obviously, but it happens. Not to split hairs, though.
In any event, I’m pretty sure that journalistic convention is to include race or approximate complexion in any case where a reporter provides a detailed physical description (including white folks). If I’m wrong about that, I’m sure one of our many B’ville journalists can set me straight.
Skimmed this quickly, and thought it was an interesting review of the subject.
http://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/chapter04/chapter04_pg02.html
I certainly agree in principle. If the idea is to alert the public & find a suspect, why not give every known detail about the suspect’s description? Readers shouldn’t be left wondering about what was left out.
I think the Baristanet has changed their policy on reporting race. I found that they used to report on race quite often if the suspect was Black and not so often if the suspect was white as I posted back in March (see below). Now they don’t seem to report race at all which is not helpful. Race should be reported equally for all races.
March 23, 2010
No disrespect to you ROC but katebirdrex is not mistaken. It happens often on this site that when the suspect is black, it is mentioned and often there is a mug shot. If the suspect is white, the reporting is not as biased.
One example.
As reported on Baristanet:
Feb. 28: A woman reported a man exposing his penis to two 14-year-old children at Claremont and Midland Avenues around 3 p.m.
The woman said while she was driving on Claremont Ave., she noticed an overweight man dressed in a blue and yellow Nautica jacket, around 50-years-old, salt and pepper hair, wearing sweatpants, approach a boy and a girl.
As reported in the Montclair Times:
The driver told investigators she was headed westbound up Claremont Avenue when she noticed a heavy-set white man, who was wearing a navy, yellow and white Nautica jacket, pull down his sweatpants and expose his private parts to the victims, who appeared to be both in their early teens.