Joseph Pierre writes about covering crime and safety for The Fayetteville Observer

Writing has always played a huge part in my life, but my path to The Fayetteville Observer certainly wasn't apparent when I was growing up in New York.

Graduating college in 2022, I wasn't sure if I was prepared to commit to a real-world opportunity in the writing field. After a year of working in public relations writing news releases for members of the New York State Assembly, I became interested in journalism.

I started my career at the Observer in June 2023 as a crime and public safety reporter. An essential part of my role is to cover breaking news, as well as research and update important active criminal cases.

Q: Why did you choose crime and public safety for your first beat?

Many people in the journalism field believe the crime beat to be one of the most difficult to cover as a reporter. My goal as a writer is to constantly find ways to become better at my craft. My thoughts behind taking the job were, "If I can crack it as a crime and public safety reporter, I can find success in a journalism career."

Q: What's your favorite part of Fayetteville?

Fayetteville is vastly different than any other place I've lived. The city has its own culture that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Being able to be a part of that culture for the nine months that I have lived in Fayetteville has been an experience that I will never forget.

Q: What is the most difficult part about your job?

Writing about crime and public safety isn't just a difficult beat because of all the research and case files I have to read. It can be difficult emotionally, to speak with families who have just lost a loved one or to hear victim stories. As difficult as it is to speak with these families, I find it rewarding to allow them to unload their feelings on the situation. Being able to share the stories of those who are truly hurting is something that is extremely important to me and the crime and public safety beat.

Q: What's your favorite part about your job?

The best thing about covering crime and public safety is being available to the community. It makes me want to be a better writer when those in the community trust me to share their story. I love going to events or being at the scene and gathering information to develop a story.

Another great part about being a crime reporter is being the first to report on a case. Gathering information to get a complete understanding of a violent crime that may have just happened a few days prior and relaying that information to our readers is an important aspect of being a crime reporter.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.