City’s Crime Show Has Dangerous Side Cable Director Threatened For Airing Names

Glenn Lipsker never thought of his director’s job at City Cable 5 as dangerous.

That was before the government channel started scrolling names of people arrested for drug-related crimes.

“You know what they say about the messenger,” Lipsker said.

Lipsker on Thursday updated the City Council on Joel Crosby’s plan to humiliate drug dealers and users, pimps, prostitutes and their customers by broadcasting their names on television.

“I had some messages offering me free physical disfigurement,” said Lipsker of the program’s first few weeks on the air. “The threats have gone down now.”

In November, the cable channel began its program to scroll the names of those convicted of prostitutionrelated crimes and people arrested and convicted of drug-related crimes.

So far, only those arrested on drug charges have been broadcast because no convictions have made their way through the court system.

Lipsker said he’s had several calls from irate people demanding their names be taken off the air.

One guy who swore he’d never been arrested for anything, let alone a drug charge, told Lipsker he was planning to sue the city.

When Lipsker checked the man’s record with police, Lipsker discovered the man had been arrested 75 times and had a rap sheet six pages long.

One woman called saying she knew her husband had smoked marijuana and he deserved what he got, but her children were being humiliated by their classmates.

An elderly woman called to say her address appeared alongside her daughter’s name. The thing is, she hadn’t seen her daughter in 15 years.

Now, instead of saying “address,” each item says “address given,” Lipsker said.

Councilman Chris Anderson said that example was why he voted against the plan last fall. “We’re dealing with information that is inherently flawed,” he said.

Several people called to ask Lipsker why other crimes weren’t included, such as domestic abuse, failure to pay child support or drunken driving.

On average, 36 names appear each week, and 40 names have appeared more than once. “One guy’s been back five times,” Lipsker said.

Although Crosby hoped other news channels and the newspaper also might use the names, so far the government channel is the only participant.

In three months, the council plans to re-evaluate the program to see whether it has reduced crime.