To better cover the crime and court beat a journalist needs police cooperation. The police need to communicate to the public at large through journalists on many subjects. So one might think they are natural allies. There is more, however. The journalist will print news that will not always cast the police in a favorable light.
Police always blame the messenger for unfavorable coverage.
Police may attempt to control coverage. In fact, both the police and the journalist bitterly resent attempts by the other at inappropriate influence. Into the complex mix of these local relationships, the RCMP brass is currently attempting to add a new element. This spring the Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether to grant the RCMP a cloak of secrecy over methods of entrapment. It's a recent pattern that's been followed time and time again all over western Canada.