gonzo
04-28-2008, 10:33 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Attorney General's office has a surprise in store for pedophiles searching YouTube for child porn: videos showing the arrest of suspects by officers of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
The videos, meant to be part media relations, part crime prevention, also will be available on the attorney general's new website, which is slated for launch in the next few weeks.
Paul Murphy, the AG's communications director, said that the videos will be made available to news organizations that are not able to record the arrests for themselves.
"The 'press room' really is our biggest new feature," Murphy said. "[Attorney General Mark Shurtleff] wants the public's business done in the public."
The media move comes in the hope that widespread exposure of arrests both online and offline will lead to increased fear of capture and prosecution on the part of pedophiles.
"We want that fear to be out there," Murphy said. "I can't imagine there being a video of me being arrested for harming a child. You can see it on their faces: Their lives are over."
Murphy wants the AG's office to help provide news and information to the public while also using the Internet to leverage the reach of its office, which is often the focus of media coverage itself due to its extremist positions and heavy-handed legislative attempts.
"We are cutting out the filter, so if people want more information, they can get it," Murphy said. "[The 'press room' site is intended to make] the press feel comfortable coming to us ... but the public has complete access to that, if they desire."
Murphy hopes that the AG's office will be able to provide "the whole story" to viewers who can now watch the full version of a press conference rather than the 15 seconds of edited content that is usually broadcast on TV.
"More people are getting their news boutique style. If they want to know more about the Texas raid, they Google it, and they find all these different outlets," Murphy said. "We want to be one of those outlets."
While the AG's office is excited about its new website, it has faced a challenge: people who want to express their opinion of the office and its practices.
According to Deputy Communications Director Scott Troxel, plans for a blog that would allow visitor comments and a "direct communication" between the public and the AG's office have been scrapped, due to the manpower issues related to policing such comments. Troxel called the "required" censorship "a full time job."
Agreeing with Troxel, Murphy said, "It is disturbing what people write in comments; anonymity takes away civility."
While Troxel said a blog is still planned, reader comments and a direct channel between the AG and the public may never be implemented, lest the ideas of the people be truly known in Utah.
The AG's new website will reportedly include news, animations, research tools, a section that details newly enacted state laws and an Amber Alert page that visitors will see during an active alert before being redirected to the main website.
The videos, meant to be part media relations, part crime prevention, also will be available on the attorney general's new website, which is slated for launch in the next few weeks.
Paul Murphy, the AG's communications director, said that the videos will be made available to news organizations that are not able to record the arrests for themselves.
"The 'press room' really is our biggest new feature," Murphy said. "[Attorney General Mark Shurtleff] wants the public's business done in the public."
The media move comes in the hope that widespread exposure of arrests both online and offline will lead to increased fear of capture and prosecution on the part of pedophiles.
"We want that fear to be out there," Murphy said. "I can't imagine there being a video of me being arrested for harming a child. You can see it on their faces: Their lives are over."
Murphy wants the AG's office to help provide news and information to the public while also using the Internet to leverage the reach of its office, which is often the focus of media coverage itself due to its extremist positions and heavy-handed legislative attempts.
"We are cutting out the filter, so if people want more information, they can get it," Murphy said. "[The 'press room' site is intended to make] the press feel comfortable coming to us ... but the public has complete access to that, if they desire."
Murphy hopes that the AG's office will be able to provide "the whole story" to viewers who can now watch the full version of a press conference rather than the 15 seconds of edited content that is usually broadcast on TV.
"More people are getting their news boutique style. If they want to know more about the Texas raid, they Google it, and they find all these different outlets," Murphy said. "We want to be one of those outlets."
While the AG's office is excited about its new website, it has faced a challenge: people who want to express their opinion of the office and its practices.
According to Deputy Communications Director Scott Troxel, plans for a blog that would allow visitor comments and a "direct communication" between the public and the AG's office have been scrapped, due to the manpower issues related to policing such comments. Troxel called the "required" censorship "a full time job."
Agreeing with Troxel, Murphy said, "It is disturbing what people write in comments; anonymity takes away civility."
While Troxel said a blog is still planned, reader comments and a direct channel between the AG and the public may never be implemented, lest the ideas of the people be truly known in Utah.
The AG's new website will reportedly include news, animations, research tools, a section that details newly enacted state laws and an Amber Alert page that visitors will see during an active alert before being redirected to the main website.