The social role of the Police Herald and the appearance of the local crime report
Authors: Jevtović Ana , Marić Katarina , Vojinović Maja 
Published: December 2023

In this paper, the social and security history of Serbia at the end of the 19th century is analyzed through an overview of the emergence, survival and functioning of the police press as a newspaper intended for the general public, but also as a significant means of shaping political culture and a stable environment. The appearance of the first issue of the Police Herald at the end of 1897 marked the strengthening of the class organization of this service, but also the growing influence and reputation in the society of that time. Although they represented a social-class and professional magazine, the editors (who were also policemen and journalists) made significant professional progress with their responsible, engaged and mobilizing approach on the border of literary and journalistic style, becoming visible in the international environment as well. Their main goal was to educate and train both members of the police and supporting administration, as well as the entire public in order to act preventively against the increasingly noticeable spread of numerous pathological phenomena. The culture of reading the press could not spread as fast as the desire for social change, but the skill of marketing content that talked about thieves, swindlers, bandits, murderers, corrupt government representatives, poisoners and similar actors of deviant phenomena, without sensationalism, manipulation and glorification of such persons was stunning. The Police Newsletter was published intermittently until 1944 (first stage 1897-1914; second stage 1920-1944). The affirmative and propaganda-activist purpose of the newspaper is visible in the intention to bring biographies and results of police officers, including their photos, to the public. More than 5.000 pictures of hardened criminals have been published against whom proceedings were conducted and who threatened the society in any way, while the number of texts related to the local crime was over 12,000. Their characteristic is the literary-publicistic style of narration, which brings criminal investigations and topics closer to a wider audience. Because of the simple, vernacular language and interesting storytelling, the readership was very high for that time. With a mild, informal and friendlier approach, the Police Herald built a bridge of trust with the community, expanding the reputation of the police and its employees, while simultaneously changing social awareness of corruption, crime and other pathological phenomena. This clearly shows the educational and professional mission of the newspaper, which, by scripting deviant behavior, strives to change the patriarchal consciousness of the Serbian public, especially doing everything to transform the behavior of persons from the criminal sphere. The narrativization of reality extends and strengthens the regulative influence of the police service and legal procedures, because through the discourse of local crime reports, social practices are legitimized in the social order in which they function. The processes of symbolic changes are complex and ambiguous, but as the content of newspapers became more interesting and explosive, so did the number of readers. The Newsletter reveals the then-unknown stories about thieves, swindlers, bandits, murderers, corrupt government officials, the sins of government officials... but at the same time it teaches the people how to oppose them or help the police to arrest them. The class-oriented editorial structure and genre hierarchy of news and reports, with a focus on the contents of the local crime reports, only increased the interest of public opinion in the operation of police services, but also the role and status of police officers and their relationship with the state and citizens. Even then, stories and records from the world of crime significantly stimulated the public's attention to the newspapers that publish them, at the same time empowering and creating a mobile audience core ready to responsibly and courageously oppose various forms of deviant behavior. Conservativism was at least temporarily pushed aside, so it can be said that the Police Herald at the crossroads of the 19th and 20th centuries represented the initiator of security reforms and new winds in the stagnant and blurred atmosphere of political confrontations and conflicts among parties of the time.