A few months ago one of our Twitter law enforcement contacts, a community relations officer, tweeted that she was thinking about starting a blog for her agency. Scott replied: Portsmouth PD had tried it, but the number of negative comments forced the agency to shut it down. They couldn’t block the negative comments or else…
Tag Archive: United States
Can social media help guard against vigilantism?
This week, the Stockton (Calif.) city council approved a budget that will lay off 55 police officers. If you recall, Stockton was the city where—when the likelihood of a significant number of layoffs was announced in April—an armed militia announced plans to “activate” should this actually occur. City officials, as Stockton resident and activist Bill…
Nixle adds stability to Tyrone, GA tweets
When I first read articles about Nixle, I was concerned. Yes, it’s secure and stable, and that alone makes it a vastly better way to broadcast information than using Twitter. But the key word is “broadcast.” Social media enthusiasts are quick to point out that “it’s all about the relationship.” Communication is a two-way street;…
Guest blog: No more excuses
Awhile back I asked for guest bloggers, and tonight I’m pleased to offer the first: Brandon Perkins, chief of police in Tyrone, GA (not far from Atlanta). Brandon and I connected on (guess where?) Twitter (he’s @brandonperkins), and he blogs at Chief Daddy, where this originally appeared. No More Excuses If one were to ask…
Social preparedness
Controlling public information during a critical incident used to be, if not easy, then at least somewhat predictable. Police and other emergency responders’ relationship with the media could dictate whether reporters transmitted (or did not transmit) the appropriate messages—or rumors. The Internet, and especially the advent of social media, has changed that predictability. The best…
What Gen Y means to law enforcement
I got to thinking about this last night as I wrote a comment on this post. What does Generation Y really mean to law enforcement? It was already on my mind as I recently finished an article on police recruiting and retention in this economy. (Shameless self-promotion: it will be out in the March/April issue…