Community Policing on the Internet: Looking for Twitter Users in Lakeland

I had a most enjoyable conversation yesterday morning with Chuck from LakelandLocal regarding new technology that Lakeland PD could use to enhance our communications with the community. Around the station I am known as a computer geek, but I am far from being on the cutting edge of emerging technologies. When Chuck mentioned Twitter and how LPD might benefit from this form of communication, I had to admit I knew very little about it.

Our interest lies in using whatever methods or media are available to engage the community in the understanding of crime and what it takes to reduce crime. I guess you could say our goal is to have an engaged community working with the police to control crime and disorder - another way of saying community-oriented policing. I have been thinking about potential uses for processes such as Twitter, but I am curious if anyone reading our blog on a regular basis actually "twitters" (I may have made-up a word there!) and would be interested in learning via Twitter what types of emergency police calls we are investigating at any given time.

So - is anyone from the local media who reads INSIDE tuned in to Twitter and could benefit from us using it rather than Media Alert? Are any of our neighborhood residents who use Twitter interested in getting updates from LPD? Do you think this might be of interest to regular Twitter users?

Feel free to send us a comment to the blog or e-mail me if you prefer using that method. Don't send me a Twitter announcement as I am not there - yet.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Comments

[Barry Friedman]

Bill, I would definitely be interested in following LPD Twitter posts (Yeah, I know they're called tweets, but I'm just not ready to call them that yet.) Seems like it would be a great way to get word out to the public when time is of the essence. (Of course, theledger.com is another way to do that.) You could post to Tweeter when traffic is rerouted, when trains are stuck downtown, when bad guys are being chased, during civil emergencies, etc. A Tweeter feed would be a great communications line during an emergency such as a hurricane when people do not have power but are able to get cellphone texts. The Ledger has two Tweeter feeds now -- one for latest news and one for prep sports. I'm sure we'll be adding more, and we would definitely post during civil emergencies.