You Make the Call: How Should Urbandale Patch Report Crime News?

Last week, two readers weighed in that they'd had just about enough of the articles I was posting on who had gotten arrested in Urbandale.

"I'm going to have to unsubscribe (to the daily Patch email) if I get another Urbandale Patch title in my inbox headlining "Look Who Got Arrested in Urbandale on OWI Charges," one person wrote.

She had just moved to Urbandale from another state and suggested that Patch do what the papers in her previous home did: report the crimes, but not the names of the people arrested.

"So we would get the information about what crime is going on without subjecting those arrested to public humility and gossip, especially since they are innocent until proven guilty," she wrote.

RoundKick Gym agreed: "I would much rather see 'positive' news articles. I feel Patch is stooping to a tabloid level with stories like this."

So, what do you think?

• Did I go too far with headlines like: Look who got arrested for OWI?

• Is it unfair to run the mug shots of people who've been arrested? Is it fair if they're arrested for robbery? For drunken driving? For assault? 

• We know that people read our crime stories, a staple of journalism since there has been crime and journalists. Is it valuable, interesting, or important to you to know who is being arrested in town?

• Police protect the names of victims of crime by not releasing them in their initial reports. But should Patch conceal the names of people who are arrested? 

• What about reporting the names of people who are arrested for lesser crimes, such as disorderly conduct, as I did last week with Erin Walker, who was jailed for disorderly conduct stemming from a property dispute. 

• Conversely, Patch typically doesn't run specific residential addresses of crime victims and I don't usually report minor thefts or shoplifting. Do you want more information on crime?

You can take the poll below, but please also add your thoughts to the comments boxes. This is your chance to make Patch the kind of site you want it to be.