Ex-crime reporter here. The bulk of crime reporting uncritically accepts the word of police.

But there is also very, very good reporting, usually done by the same outlets and the same reporters. The Herald Sun uncovered the biggest police scandal in decades with Lawyer X. https://twitter.com/oz_f/status/1339008281281380355

You can acknowledge the need to work on the first bit, and particularly how it entrenches racist and classist assumptions, with out throwing out the second bit.

And crime is hardly the only round with this problem. All goes back to what happens when journos prioritise access.

But also being a crime reporter fucking sucks. The pressure from editors is insane and your job relies on getting grieving and traumatised people to trust you in time for deadline, all while you are expected to remain completely unaffected to deal with the next terrible thing.

So yes, reporters can always do better and must strive to do better but the way crime is covered is a structural issue for the news industry. And also for news consumers who want those stories.

(please don't @ me with the code of ethics, it carries no weight)

And in case it's not clear through this thread — I fundamentally agree with what @oz_f was saying. Report on cops not for cops.