The Mayor’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council sponsored a free community forum last week at the Osborn Center. The all day forum focused on the media’s interaction with crime scenes and the legal issues surrounding the subject. The event featured several speakers covering many different aspects of the issue.
The main speaker, Spencer Mann, currently an investigator for the State Attorney’s Office in Gainesville, spoke about his experiences as the public information officer for the Gainesville Police Department during the University of Florida student murders. He covered subjects such as victim notification, task force building and the process for dealing with a major crime scene.
Kathy Pannell, victim services counselor for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, said the forum gave the media and the community a chance to learn better ways to cover sensitive crime scene issues.
“We wanted to have a productive and constructive dialogue to inform the public and the media of the concerns we have with the coverage of crime scenes,” she said.