PR for Public Outrage at Police
By:
Caitlin Morris

Objective
After seeing this documentary, there is going to be a lot of disgust and
outrage against the British police system. First and foremost, we need to
address the fact that the entire police force is not like this. There are bad
people in every profession, and this documentary highlighted this small
population to make the entire police force look terrible. Since the police force
will not be able to cover up or deny any of these actions seen in the film, it is
essential that we apologize and emphasis the fact that the entire force is not
like this. We need to point out the one-sidedness of this documentary, as well
as highlight all the good deeds that the British police force really does.

Strategy
We will first deal with unhappy citizens that come
forward and complain. We will mail them personal letters of
apology from the head of the police department.
The department will also make several VNRs
depicting a day-in-the-life of a police officer so the public can
see what their job is truly like.
The police department will also make a public
statement apologizing for their actions seen in the
documentary and will restate their mission to serve the public.
This public apology and statement will be broadcasted by all
major television stations. The police force will publicly explain
the steps they are taking to rid the department of this behavior
and better serve the citizens of England. They will address the
issues of sexism, negligence and superiority and how they
intend to change these attitudes and behaviors in their police
force.

Tactics
The British police department will record several VNR’s
showing exactly what they do on the job, so the public does not think all
they do is slack off. One VNR will show a snippet of what an officer
does throughout the day. Another will highlight superior officers who
have won awards as they discuss their most heroic and dangerous
missions. Another will show officers doing charity work, helping children
and getting out into the community.
The police force will take significant public action against the
sexist, discriminative police officers shown in the documentary. News
stories will be broadcasted on major television stations, showing the
people of England that behavior like this does not go unpunished and is
completely unacceptable in the police force.
The department will also publish reports in local newspapers
to show where tax payers’ money goes and how it is being spent to
assure their taxes are not being wasted.

Budget
The budget for this PR campaign will be 1 million dollars or
whatever is necessary to build up loyalty to the police force
once again. Since police officers are highly respected
individuals serving the public, it is essential that every step is
taken to regain that trust. However, since this is a shocking
story, we will probably not have to take our story to television
stations because they will want it as one of their top stories.
Money will be spent on educating police officers, extensive
rape training and VNR recordings.

Evaluation
Over time, this public outrage will cease, but until then, the police department
will continue promoting itself and the good work that it does. After 6 months,
and then again after a year of the release of this documentary, the police
force will send out surveys to its citizens asking them questions about their
feelings towards the police force. After reading these questionnaires we will
make a decision whether our job is done or if more good PR is needed to
increase the status of the police force.

Source Credibility
Since I am a member of the police force, I would have to simply apologize and
admit that these people of the law made terrible mistakes. Trying to lie and
deny the charges would just make the public not trust me or other officers
even more. I would really have to convince the public that several bad police
officers does not mean that myself, and the entire police force are corrupt.
We need to promote the good in police officers by publicizing heroic stories,
community service and good deeds done by the department. I also feel that I
would have to almost attack and publicly punish officers who acted
inappropriately so the public will see that these actions do not go unnoticed
and that other police officers are disgusted by their behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance
We need to take these negative myths about police officers and address them.
Allowing the public to discuss and voice their opinions on why they believe
these negative images might be a good outlet. Allowing people to say what is
on their minds- even if it’s bad- can then allow us to take these beliefs and
defend ourselves.
Many people have not even had to actually utilize the police force before and
have this bad and dishonest image of them from rumors or violent movies.
Truly understanding exactly what a cop’s job entails might help dissolve
some of these negative images of police officers. However, I feel it’s
necessary to speak to the public, understand where these images are
coming from, and then fight and defend them. Listening to the public and
then showing them why they might be wrong is a better alternative than just
preaching about how great police officers are.

The Flow of Opinion
Since we will be publishing many stories in the local newspapers as well as
broadcasting stories and VNRs on the television stations, we will still need to
reach those who won’t see these in some way. We will send out personal
letters to all residents in the area apologizing for the behavior they may have
seen in the documentary, explaining how we will make changes, and
highlighting the goodness of police officers. We will also tell them to check
out our website where we have created a discussion board for residents to
express their opinions and concerns about the police force. We will also tell
them to check out some of our VNR’s on the internet.

Suggestions for Action
If we tell the public that we want to create change and need their help
desperately, I feel that people would easily stand up and discuss the
problems seen in the documentary. We will invite all residents to a town
meeting/discussion. Bringing residents together to address the issue would
make them feel like they are taking part in the situation. Listening to their
concerns and then acting on them shows them that they truly do have a
voice. Responding to their message board posts on the website, as well as
taking their opinions to create change within the department will show them
they really can make a difference and we are not just trying to make
ourselves look good through all these PR campaigns.