By Marsha McFadden
Advertiser City Editor

I recently got a call from a reader, Bruce, who suggested that The Advertiser run a column or section on crime.

I apologize to Bruce for not getting his last name, mostly because our conversation was brief and Bruce just wanted someone to know we should be doing more reporting on how the crimes we write about are resolved. He suggested it would be along the lines of a "What ever happened to ... ?" feature.

Forceful in his delivery yet respectful, Bruce was measured and passionate about what he had to say. It's important that "you follow up on the stories" you write about, he said. Tell readers how a criminal was caught and who remains on the loose.

The interesting thing about our short conversation was that in the background I could hear his radio blasting, and he wasn't tuned to rock or oldies. The "Posse" — signature feature of Hawai'i's most popular morning radio show — was hot on the trail of something or someone. My guess is that, inspired, Bruce picked up the telephone. Start a section in the paper, he said, where every day you can find out what calls police went out on and include how the calls from the day before were resolved.

In essence, print the police "blotter," as some newspapers do.

It's hard to imagine that there's a newspaper anywhere that hasn't wrestled at some time or another with how best to handle crime news. Crime is always one of those high-interest topics on newspaper readership surveys.

It's a complex topic, for the surveys show people want the newspaper to run more crime news, but we also get a fair amount of complaints that there's too much crime news. It's clear that news of crime can strike a chord on many levels, often spurring whole communities into action. Hearing about a crime — whether on the radio, from a neighbor, or in the newspaper — can compel you to get involved. And these days, the cell phone makes it convenient to play your part.

Historically, police always have relied on the public for information when solving crimes, and programs like Crime Stoppers have been successful for years. We now have the Amber/Maile Alert system in place to help find missing children. Tips from a pig-hunter and others were key when three inmates who escaped from prison were captured last month.

Without a doubt, news tips are critical to a newspaper's city desk, the place where decisions are made daily on what local stories to cover, what items on the police log to write about.

In a state like Hawai'i, it's impossible to write about every police call. That's why we try to look at trends — has there been a series of break-ins in a particular neighborhood? — rather than each individual instance of crime. But in our Police Beat column and throughout the pages of the Hawai'i section, we still try to keep an eye on the fires, vehicle accidents, robberies, assaults and property crimes that are high-profile enough to interest more than one person or neighborhood.

Which brings me back to Bruce, who I believe isn't just nosy or more vested than the rest of us in the downfall of robbers and car thieves. Crime news is important because we need to know what's happening so we can adjust our routines, and our attitudes, to feel safe at home, on a walk in the neighborhood, in the car or at work.

The police briefs we publish in the Hawai'i section are a collection of what we've determined are the most newsworthy items of the day. We get them by listening to our newsroom police scanners, thumbing through police logs, talking to sources or checking out telephone tips. According to Bruce, we miss the mark sometimes because we don't list every incident or, more important, don't always follow up on how a case was resolved.

It's a point well made, and I appreciate the reminder.

So who do you call with a tip? The number for the city desk is 525-8090. If you have a question about how we cover crime news, phone me at 535-2426, or deputy city editor Ken Kobayashi at 525-8048. You can e-mail us at hawaii@honoluluadvertiser.com.

If you'd like to give a tip to one of our police reporters, phone Rod Ohira at 525-8181 or Allison Schaefers at 535-8110.