When Mike Vallez launched his social media blog a few weeks ago, I was struck by a comment he made in one of his first posts: “I would venture to guess that in the future you will have a social media police officer or many social media police officers that will be involved in “the…
Tag Archive: Law enforcement agency
Getting help with social media’s day to day
In the last few weeks I’ve explored why more law enforcement officers and agencies are not jumping on board the social media bandwagon; the dangers of official or unofficial officer use; and the importance of a good social media policy, whether or not your agency is officially using social media. What now? Social media is…
Transparency vs. anonymity
An interesting debate has cropped up over on ConnectedCops.net about whether police officers should be allowed to blog anonymously. It started with Lauri’s point in her post on elements of a social media policy (cross posted here and on her blog): 3. Identity. Some bloggers work anonymously, using pseudonyms or false screen names. Law enforcement…
Why cops shouldn’t use social networking
In response to my question, “Do you think more LE don’t get on board w/ social media b/c they fear the inability to size ppl up as they would in person?” I got another response besides those from the previous entry: @cmouser: There are folks telling officers it not safe for them to do it…false…
Social media doesn’t bring a changing of the guard
The Munhall (Pennsylvania) News Watch posted this Pittsburgh Tribune Review article recently: While police departments elsewhere turn to Web sites such as Twitter and Facebook, some local chiefs are sticking to automated phone messages as the best way to get fast alerts to many people at once. “If you want something right away, a Web…
In Fairfield, California, My #1 Friend is a Cop
More police departments are starting to develop presences in social network spaces. They ask for help locating suspects, tell community members about department-sponsored events, and interact via comments and messages. They may also drive traffic to a main Web site or warn citizens of nearby emergencies. Many of these pages resemble the “cop on the…