‘Copycat’ worry led to red flag

A high-ranking government staffer is raising a red flag over reporting of security breaches at Work and Income centres, saying it has the potential to ‘‘encourage copycat behaviour’’.

But a journalism academic has labelled a statement from the Ministry of Social Development’s Stephen Crombie as ‘‘a crude, wellmeaning, but misguided attempt to steer the media’’.

The ministry’s corporate solutions deputy chief executive made the comment as part of an Official Information Act request for figures relating to threats and assaults against Work and Income staff.

Crombie appealed for the press to ‘‘consider carefully how they cover security incidents at ministry offices.’’

But Massey University head of journalism Dr James Hollings said there was little research to suggest a link between media reporting and copycat behaviour.

‘‘I would say this was a pretty big stretch for MSD to put that in. It sort of comes across as a really crude or heavy-handed attempt, a PR attempt to deflect journalists from doing their job, which is to ask about this kind of thing,’’ Hollings said.

Work and Income’s security protocols were thrust into the spotlight following the fatal shootings of Ashburton workers Leigh Cleveland and Peggy Noble in September 2014.

Lasting just 61 seconds, Russell John Tully’s rampage earned him the third-longest sentence imposed by a New Zealand court - life in prison with a non-parole period of 27 years.

The 49-year-old was also convicted of the attempted murder of Kim Elizabeth Adams, who Tully fired at but missed as she fled out the back door.

The event led the ministry to reassert its zero-tolerance approach to threatening and abusive behaviour.

Some incidents that would have been treated as minor in the past were ‘‘interpreted in [the] context of the potential worst case outcome’’, leading to a rise in reported security events.

Trespass orders in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Work and Income offices increased from 114 in 2016 to 170 the following year. During the same period, 11 incidents ended in injury to at least one ministry staff member across the three regions. More than 1200 warning letters were also sent out - often the result of a string of incidents occurring over time.

Auckland University media and communications senior lecturer, Dr Gavin Ellis, said Crombie’s statement about reporting security incidents raised two issues - public safety and its right to know. ‘‘They are not mutually exclusive and the former must not be used in an attempt to avoid answering journalists’ legitimate questions,’’ he said.

He acknowledged reporting security detail like precautions and alarm systems may ‘‘aid a potential offender’’ and journalists were usually circumspect about such matters.

‘‘However, failures of security are matters that can and should be addressed - on the assumption that those system failures have been corrected.’’

Ellis said assaults on premises were in a different category, because the public has the right to know when they occur, whether there was a safety risk and why, and what was being done to prevent them.

‘‘The risks of not covering those things properly far outweighs any sort of vague, potential, unresearched, possible effect of copycat,’’ he added.