Guest Post by Shanan Sorochynski
Just a small reminder that when you are driving and texting (or scratching your nethers) everyone can see you.
It’s true.
You are surrounded by windows … and people who like to tweet about other drivers doing dangerous things on the road.
Just one of the many interesting factoids our group was given when the Regina Police Service (RPS) sent its social media officer, Kaeli Madill, to talk to us about all things Twitter and Facebook.
Side note: This wasn’t a court ordered session due to any public nether scratching issues on our part. She was there because RPS is a great community partner. Moving on …
For RPS, social media spaces are a great venue to answer questions the general public normally don’t have an opportunity to ask.
Things like:
• Is it illegal to smoke on restaurant patios?
• Some emergency personnel give teddy bears to children at traumatic events, do you?
• Are there laws about keeping exotic pets in the city?
To keep the conversation going RPS hosts #WhatstheFineWednesday. As the hashtag suggests, every Wednesday they ask their followers what the fine is for a particular infraction. It is popular because it’s relevant to everyone who drives in the city.
I think most people know that rolling through a stop sign can potentially hurt people. But they likely don’t know it’s a $230 fine.
Being relevant is key, so they keep their Facebook and Twitter feeds filled with useful information that fits their mandate: info about ongoing situations (eg. scams, recent crimes) and retweets about construction and driving conditions.
According to Madill, people need to see a piece of information eight times before it sticks with them, so re-writing and re-posting information in the form of updates and reminders isn’t a bad thing at all.
But, creating content is only part of the equation. In order to build a community you need more. You need to be consistent and trustworthy.
RPS updates their social media sites every day – once in the morning and again in the afternoon. You don’t need to post daily like RPS does. But you do need to be consistent.
They also make sure they are the first to report incidents that reflect negatively on them (eg. an officer being charged with impaired driving). By being open they minimize community ill-will and damage to their reputation.
They also don’t shy away from humour. It can be a tricky line to walk, but worth it.
During a recent missing person’s case, for example, RPS’s followers were extremely valuable in gathering information, providing them with hundreds of extra eyes and ears across the city in minutes.
That kind of effort helps both RPS and the community.
Image: zlady via Flickr, CC 2.0
Shanan Sorochynski manages the University of Regina’s first official blog: YOURblog. Previous to this she was the managing editor of U of R Report, the University’s faculty and staff internal publication, and a print journalist in Manitoba.
hahah well we don’t send anyone to Guantanemo Bay… but we do send our SWAT guys to train with LAPD SWAT, so that’s kind of cool!
We have been talking about the possibility of having 24/7 coverage for social media, but with just one person managing all accounts, it would be difficult. It is in our long term plan. Maybe the next 5 years?
As for measurements, we track things like followers, likes, shares, and retweets, but we also track things like comments, and replies. We are also working on tracking the correlation to the number of tips we get from our followers in cases of missing persons or unsolved crimes. We would also love to link things like reduction in thefts from auto to a facebook and twitter messaging campaign, but that will need more time and data!
What a great way to participate in and build community, and props to @Regina Police for taking the time to come by and comment here… to me, that’s walking the talk. I’m curious as to whether they have any kind of measurement program in place, or what kinds of measures would make sense to them, outside of anecdotal evidence? Terrific post, Shanan!
I am going to ask if they send people to Guantanamo Bay ;-)
This is really great @Shanan I like that they participate. I think it would reduce friction between people and police. Though I think they should allow questions 24/7. One point of contention is the ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘I didn’t expect’ response that gets people aggro. Imagine just tweeting for an answer. In the US we all know 911 for emergencies but no one knows the ‘help line’.
@HowieG That’s a really good point about everyone knowing to call 911 but not knowing what the help or non-emergency number is. @Shanan
@rachaelseda fantastic article! @reginapolice keep up the great work, you have my attention! #relevantfortoday #breakingbarriers
@HProsak Thanks Heather! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
@rachaelseda @shonali Excellent article – the @reginapolice are inspirational with their social media!
@taroncochrane Thanks, T!
@reginapolice Credit where credit is due.
@taroncochrane Yes I agree Taron! cc: @shonali @reginapolice
Thanks for the article and for inviting us in to speak to your group! Stay safe!
@rachaelseda Belated thanks for sharing @Shanan_S guest #WUL post!
For some reason this made me laugh, “Some emergency personnel give teddy bears to children at traumatic events, do you?” really because I can just see someone posting it just to get a response. Although as a child I did receive one of these after a car accident and I loved it!
I can only imagine the possibilities and doors that social has open up for police and detectives in many ways. It sounds like the Regina Police Service have used social to positively impact and proactively help the community. It will be interesting to see how social impacts future careers for industries such as this.
@rachaelseda I suspect the police read all sorts of tweets that are sent for the sake of a reaction (I think most organizations do). Most that our organization receives, I find are opportunities to either correct an issue, clarify misinformation or find an idea that can help the organization. . . . and others, of course, just fall into the “what the heck do I do with this” pile. ;) Everyday on Twitter is a roll of the dice. I do like the teddy bear idea though. Aside from being kind It shows emergency personnel understand who are they are serving.
@rachaelseda You were in a car accident as a child?