MURDER — when journalists and police work together justice can be served.
In the UK over the last three nights there has been a drama screened on ITV called The Pembrokeshire Murders — it tells the true story of a police detective’s mission to catch a killer of four people and that man, real name Steve Wilkins, was played by the movie star and actor Luke Evans.
Why has this touched a chord with me? Two main reasons. One is that the story also features a journalist, Jonathan Hill, who is known to me professionally and who have worked with at ITV Wales. He co-wrote the book with Steve Wilkins and was involved in this production. For me and anyone who knows Jonathan personally that’s exciting. The second was this was a superb piece of drama, which was mindful and respectful of the victims of this individual, it told a story based on truth, and it reflected the fact that when the police and journalists trust each other — and work together — they can actually change lives. They can make a difference when it comes to crime because they both have powerful tools at their disposal.
Any journalist who has had a crime reporting role as I have in the past will know how important those relationships are — and you wreck them at your peril. This is a balancing act between the need to tell a great story and the need ‘not’ to tell a great story until the right time. In any kind of…
