• What's the Story? Reporting mental health and suicide
• At a glance
• The handbook
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • Key facts about mental health
  • Care in and out of the community
  • Reporting mental health and violence
    • The dos and don'ts of covering violence
    • Violence and mental illness - the facts
  • Violence: the other side of the story
  • Reporting suicide
  • Language and terminology
  • Industry codes of practice
  • Diagnoses
  • Contacts
• Shift Media Network

The dos and don'ts of covering violence

These are some recommendations for good practice when reporting on violent crime stories which may be linked to mental illness:

• Avoid using offensive expressions like ‘psycho’, ‘schizo’ and ‘nutter’. They perpetuate the stereotypical ideas associating people with mental health problems with violence and unpredictability – and their use may breach the PCC code and other codes of practice (see the chapter on codes of practice for more information).
• Stick to the facts – don’t speculate about someone’s mental health being a factor unless the facts are clear.
• Include contextualising facts about how very few people with mental health problems are violent.
• You may wish to reflect the views of the perpetrator’s family – often they are victims too, with compelling stories to tell.
• Seek comment from a mental health charity, a police spokesman or a psychiatrist from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, who can set the story in perspective. See the Contacts section for more details.

What's the Story: Reporting mental health and suicide: A resource for journalists and editors