Did you catch the May 16 presser (press conference) following the jailbreak at the Orleans Justice Center?
I did. And I nearly broke out too… in laughter.
I sat there absolutely incredulous as I watched this presser.
When 10 inmates broke out of jail (nothing funny about that), so did the cracks in the Orleans Justice Center’s crisis communication strategy.
It was an epic failure on many counts.
Things were so confusing at their presser that they should’ve employed crisis communications to fix their crisis communications.
Let’s analyze the three mistakes in this PR disaster…
#1 – Poor Public Communications
The first mistake was failure to inform the public in a timely manner that 10 very dangerous men were now running loose in their community.
The escape from the Orleans Justice Center occurred around 12:23 a.m. on May 16, but it wasn’t discovered until a routine headcount at 8:30 a.m. — approximately eight hours later. The public was subsequently alerted at 10:30 a.m., about two hours after the discovery.
That’s 10 hours since the initial escape.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the escapes were due to the cells’ defective locks. An employee has been arrested for allegedly assisting with this dramatic escape. (Give this employee an EyeDetect test — several corrections facilities already use it).
This timeline indicates a significant delay in both recognizing the escape and informing the public, raising concerns about the facility’s monitoring and communication protocols.
Joshua Schirard, a former SWAT captain, said “We’re looking at a failure on the PR level by not informing the public of this escape until hours and hours and hours later. These are violent criminals.”
As of this writing, four of the 10 have been recaptured.
#2 – Multiple-Choice Phone Numbers
Second, there was no unity or coordination between the local, state and federal officials in making it easy for the public to contact authorities if they had a lead.
This was the part that immediately jumped out at me.
Three different officials spoke. And each gave a different phone number for the public to call.
One even gave multiple options.
Check this out:
- Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department Anne Kirkpatrick: “We want to remind people to call Crime Stoppers at 504-822-1111.”
- Louisiana State Police Colonel Robert Hodges: “You have to call the tip line, as well as the FBI, and in addition the State Police Fusion Center at 1-800-925-4192.”
- Jonathan Tapp, Louisiana FBI special agent in charge: “If you have any information, and it doesn’t matter what time of day, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or you can submit your tip online by going to FBI.gov/NewOrleansFugitives, or contact the Crime Stoppers.”
Why did no one think to just offer one phone number?
They’re showing this unified front and how they’re helping each other, but at the same time saying “my phone number is better than yours.”
Imagine watching a TV ad for the latest gizmo and they give you three different numbers to call.
Not only that, but did anyone think to give a phone number to the news stations ahead of the presser so they could place it on the screen and make it easier for viewers?
Watch their disjointed communications for yourself in this follow-up presser, where the same mistakes were made from the previous day.
#3 – Reward Confusion
Lastly, let’s take a look at what we’ll call “the bounty blunder.”
On Sunday the FBI increased its reward amount from $5,000 to $10,000 per escapee, while the CrimeStoppers reward was increased from $2,000 to $5,000, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was offering $5,000.
So, now there’s up to $20,000 in rewards being offered
So if you want the $10k reward, do you have to call 1-800-CALL-FBI? That’s the number to call because calling Crime Stoppers at 504-822-1111 only gets you $5k.
But what’s the reward if you call the State Police Fusion Center? A used prison lock?
And what number do you call to get the $5k reward from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives?
If you call one number, do you automatically get all the rewards?
With all the phone numbers being thrown at us, we already have enough numbers to deal with.
I don’t know. I just hope they capture the rest of the inmates on the loose.
The 3 Big Takeaways
The incident underscores the importance of:
- Timely Public Alerts: Immediate notification can aid in the swift capture of escapees and ensure public safety and trust.
- Unified Messaging: A coordinated communication strategy among agencies prevents confusion and fosters public trust.
- Clear Channels for Information: Providing a single contact number and a unified reward simplifies the process for the public to report information and understand what’s in it for them, respectively.
Does your ability to communicate with great clarity sometimes escape you?
Call 480.606.8292 (yes, just ONE number) and be rewarded with words that engage and persuade your audience to do business with you.
Stay authentic (and follow all the laws of smart communications strategies)!
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for technology startup Converus.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but also holds an Italian citizenship. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves in his church, watches BYU football, and plays Dominion and Seven Wonders. Email Jeff.
