RBP and media

This week this paper faced a peculiar situation as there was a slew of new and old crime cases that this paper was following up, but each time, we came up against an invisible new information barrier in the Royal Bhutan Police.

 When our reporter contacted the respective police station or department, the reporter was told to get the information from a ‘spokesperson’.

It did not matter that the spokesperson is not even in the country. The person in his place had no clue about the crimes nor could get the information.

When the reporter approached senior RBP officials, including those who promised transparency and information sharing with the media in the past, they refused to help and directed the reporter back to the non-existent ‘spokesperson.’

Our reporters had to use other sources of information than the police including a local government official and eye witnesses as police stations and officials across the country, including in the headquarter, were not cooperating with us.

This is troubling as it comes at a time when the RBP is facing questions from the public and society, especially around its handling of the detainee death case.

The answer here is more transparency and not hiding behind protocol.

Law enforcement is not just about boots on the streets or patrols, but it is also about building public trust and communication and here the media plays an important role.

The media and RBP partnership cannot be a one way street too with the RBP only calling for press conferences to do advocacy or highlight some achievement and stats.

It must be responsive to the media when crimes and even when lapses happen. The media is not seeking that information for itself but for the public.

The public have a right to know about the crimes happening in the country and how they are being handled.

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
William O Douglas