Editorial: Send tips to our new Cops & Crime columnists
We hope you saw the new column that debuted on the front page Friday: Cops & Crime by Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas.
As with any new feature we introduce, we hope you like it.
And we hope you let us know what you think, too. Let us know what suggestions you have for shaping and improving the concept.
The two column authors make a perfect team. Keeshan and Sarkauskas are veteran journalists with a good sense of what's interesting and a solid understanding of law enforcement and criminal justice.
They'll benefit from support from our newsroom's army of reporters, particularly the specialists who cover area courts and police.
But they're going to be looking for help from you, too. If you have a tip, know of a heroic police officer, have questions or information about crime trends, experience a crime or are exposed to our courts, suspect something that's afoul with our criminal justice system, reach out to them. You can do so by emailing them at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com or by phoning our tip line at 847-427-4483.
We created this column because we know of our readers' strong interest in crime news. We also saw it as a place to highlight the heroes in blue who sometimes fail to get the credit they're due - as well as a place to examine the controversies regarding law enforcement that seem especially intense these days.
As with all our coverage, we want to serve the readers' interest and we want to serve the public good.
"It's my goal for this column to provide readers with additional insight into their criminal justice system and the people who operate within it or are affected by it - including police officers, lawyers, victims and defendants," Keeshan said. "We hope to give readers the inside scoop on what's happening in their police departments - who's being promoted, who won a lifesaving award and, yes, even who may be facing disciplinary action and why. We want to let our readers know about the ways criminals are trying to take advantage of them and what they can do to protect themselves."
Sarkauskas added: "What I hope to accomplish is to let people know some of the stuff we don't normally write about, but do talk about. I hope to shed light on some aspects of the criminal justice system that, unless you are a criminal, a victim, or acquainted with either, you may not know about."
Cops & Crime will appear Fridays. We hope you find it to be good reading. Even more, we hope you find it informative.