Adjudication No. 635 (March 1993) [1993] APC 27

ADJUDICATION No. 635 (March 1993)

The Press Council has dismissed a complaint from Mrs S Wright against The West Australian over the headline "Basher Smith to face State appeal" which appeared on page one of the 4 February 1993 edition.

The headline was above a report on the WA Government's decision to appeal against an Industrial Relations Commission ruling that police sergeant Desmond Smith should be reinstated, despite his conviction and subsequent dismissal from the force for assaulting in a young man in the Fremantle lockup.

A video showing the young man being dragged by Sgt Smith into a room outside the view of the TV Camera, and subsequently his reappearance with a broken jaw, was shown extensively on TV in Perth and widely elsewhere.

The Press Council believes that the headline use of "Basher Smith" was justified in view of the conviction. It served to identify in a provocative way, and in the brief style of a headline, the subject of the report.

The complainant argued among other things, that the term "Basher" denigrates the WA police force as a whole, that the headline could influence subsequent court hearings and thus deny the policeman natural justice and that the headline "implies an established record of physical violence".

As the newspaper argued the policeman was convicted of hitting and breaking the jaw of a teenager, and publicity was always part of the penalty for people found guilty by the courts wrongdoing.

The Press Council sees no evidence that the entire force was being denigrated, and newspapers certainly have a duty to report such matters affecting public confidence in the police force, even though there may be future legal hearings.

There is no doubt that the policeman was convicted of serious assault and the newspaper was entitled to keep readers informed of the continuing developments in the case.

The adjective "Basher" was literally accurate, even if, before his conviction, the policeman involved had had 17 blemish-free years in the force.