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Five Reasons I Want the Local Police to Use Social Media
By: Marijean Jaggers | 08/27/2009
I was enjoying a cup of coffee this morning and observed a disturbing scene. A man pulled up to the coffee shop and jumped out of his truck and went inside, leaving his daughter (who was maybe a year old) in the backseat in her carseat. Vigilant citizen that I am, I kept a close eye on the girl while "Dad of the Year" took about five minutes inside to get his half-caff nonfat latte. What was this guy thinking? I wondered, since most of us are aware it would only take seconds for someone to grab that child and run and the well-publicized local story of a mother accidentally leaving her infant in the car while she went to work, resulting in the baby's death, must have reached every parent in this community and beyond. Right?
I tweeted my sighting, aghast, and looked around for a possibly nearby police officer, knowing there probably wasn't sufficient time to call and get an officer to the scene. "Dad" returned to his truck; I glared, made a show of noting his license plate and watched him hightail it out of the parking lot. (Yeah, I know; I'm not really that tough, and I'm even somewhat nonconfrontational.)
And then I started to wonder ... are law enforcement personnel paying attention to Twitter? As police officers are listening to scanners, is someone on staff also monitoring local social media? And if not, why on Earth not? This has been on my mind all day, and the minds of some of my Twitter followers as well. In fact, several hours after the incident, Molly Fulton sent me this article, which summed up my simmering thoughts about social media's role in police work.
I want my local police -- and yours -- to get in touch with social media and with their communities. I want to help them figure out how to do it, efficiently and effectively. Here's why:
1. People using social media are on the scene; every scene -- all day. They can be a reporting, documenting resource, snapping photos of crime and danger, and alerting authorities. Law enforcement officials should develop relationships with these social media watchdogs (if you will) before they really need to rely upon them.
2. Let's face it: Police departments have small budgets. Getting to know the people in their communities online will extend their limited resources by unofficially deputizing community members to be their eyes and ears when they can't be at all places at all times.
3. Social media tools are critical to communicating in a crisis. First responders would be well-served to use them to deliver official warnings, alerts, notices and other important information. Go where your community is (I always say) to deliver your news. In many cases, your community is on Twitter and Facebook and reading RSS-feed delivered content -- are you publishing where you'll be read?
4. Social media engagement builds trust. If law enforcement officials want members of the community to trust them, a good way to start is to develop a voice online. Share authentic personalities and engage with members of the community. Police, especially in the case of Twitter, should follow community members and post tweets that show their interest and care for their communities.
5. If nothing else, law enforcement should listen to social media. The practice of using radios in law enforcement is practically as old as the radio itself. If local police want to be the first to know what's happening in their communities, monitoring using search and RSS feeds (contact me at mjaggers at standingpr dot com - I can help) to efficiently stay on top of mentions online of incidents of interest to police is perhaps the first, all-important step.
I want my local police to know what's going on, and how to find out so they can create a safer environment for everyone in my community -- don't you?
Posted in Digital Communications
comments
BobbyD says:
Fri, August 28, 2009 at 9:41:am
One more thing: In your original example the gentleman you described didn’t break any laws. So, if you were to report his actions to the police, their response would’ve been, “Lady… stop calling us. There wasn’t a crime.”
So, maybe you’re right. Maybe you should Tweet all of your frustrations out over the internet. It’s pretty clear by this article that the internet is the sole place for inane drivel.
Marijean Jaggers says:
Fri, August 28, 2009 at 2:07:pm
Thanks for your comment.
Actually, you can be arrested for leaving a baby unattended in a car:
http://privateofficernews.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/woman-arrested-after-leaving-children-in-car/
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-mother-leaves-twins-unattended,0,6602371.story
http://www.vosizneias.com/35956/2009/07/31/teaneck-nj-brooklyn-couple-arrested-after-leaving-child-alone-in-vehicle/
The charge is “endangering the welfare of a child,” or “felony child neglect.”
I agree with you that Twitter is not a vehicle for reporting crime. However, if several people tweet about the same suspicious incident, it behooves authorities to check it out; numbers give claims legitimacy. If relationships have already been developed, the police will know the trusted sources.
I disagree that social media is not worth monitoring by law enforcement and reaffirm that it’s an excellent tool for the delivery of alerts, warnings, reminders and safety information.
Kurt Greenbaum says:
Fri, August 28, 2009 at 9:50:pm
‘Fraid I have to agree with Marijean. Can’t imagine why law enforcement wouldn’t find ways to use social media. @Bobby, by your reasoning, the cops wouldn’t adopt any new technology—radio, telephone, cell phones, the Internet—as a tool to help them do their jobs.
In fact, the police already use it. The Chesterfield PD has a Twitter account (@ChesterfieldPD)—and they’re not the only one by a long shot. Cops look at Facebook. They verify alibis based on when users are online, for example.
I know for a fact that the Columbia, Ill., police were watching the story comments on STLtoday.com very closely for possible leads when they were investigating the Coleman murder case.
Peter says:
Tue, September 01, 2009 at 6:18:pm
Social media is today’s preferred means of communication within our communities. To “be a part of the conversation,” police need engage in sites like Twitter and Facebook, and develop strategies to use them effectively. Of course these sites can be a waste of time or even security threats to police departments, however, so can the internet itself. In addition to the efficient information delivery, social media networks create relationships and bring people together, which means they can create a stronger tie between community and police department. Many departments also have blogs where police discuss variety of community related issues with members of the public (example: http://lpd304.blogspot.com/). Some other departments deliver audio and video podcasts to subscribers in the community (example: http://tinyurl.com/lbsye7). These tools have been proven effective over and over again by departments that use them.
P says:
Wed, September 02, 2009 at 11:17:am
Police departments can strategically use social media in so many ways. Some PDs have Facebook pages for community events and recruitment, some use Twitter to update crimes, and some use blogs to discuss issues and receive feedback from the public. Facebook, Twitter, and blogs seem to be the most popular types of social media police use, however, I think video sharing, like you pointed out, is also a very effective strategy. Many PDs have video and audio clips on their websites, but very few actually deliver podcasts. Podcasting is the next step for police to take in social media. A pioneer in social media, this police department delivers podcasts categories such as, “quick updates,” “Information if interest,” “Safety Tips” and others .
BobbyD says:
Fri, August 28, 2009 at 9:35:am
I can’t disagree more with your article. Law enforcement has no place using Twitter or other social networks as a means of enforcing the law. Let me ask you this: How long have you been using the internet? Twitter wasn’t around 5 years ago and it won’t be around in another 5. I believe the police have been enforcing the law to the best of their ability without the use of social networks in the way you describe for a very long time. Waiting for leads on Twitter not only sounds like a HUGE waste of taxpayer dollars, how are the police able to tell the real crimes people are Tweeting about from the hoaxes? And why ON EARTH would you Tweet about a crime in progress before using your cellphone to make an actual CALL to 911. It seems to me that Tweeting your 144 characters takes a LOT more time than dialing the 3 digits into your phone. Don’t you?