Fighting crime with Facebook
July 27, 2011 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
The Toronto Police Service is kicking its online presence up a notch.
The force’s new social media initiative will encourage officers to sign up for Facebook and Twitter pages and train them in their use for day-to-day work.
The goal is to have about 175 officers with online profiles by early November. The first group of 20-30 officers finishes training Wednesday, at which point the program will be officially announced.
“This is going to lead to a lot more trust and a lot more transparency,” said Const. Scott Mills, the force’s social media officer.
The program features more changes yet to be revealed and is designed to improve communication between police and the public. It has been in the works since Mills became the social media officer in April 2010. Before that, he was using social media in the force’s Crime Stoppers division.
“We’ve prevented some pretty serious incidents simply because people reached out to the few police officers that were using social media,” he said.
Mills said about two years ago, a Facebook friend alerted him to someone posting anti-Semitic rants on their Facebook account, which led to the person’s arrest and prevented what police deemed to be a violent threat.
“When that person called the police, the officer who answered the phone didn’t even know what Facebook was,” Mills said. “This is why we need the training.”
Officers aren’t required to participate in the program.
Earlier this month, the Toronto police website added a page where users can report lost property, crimes under $5,000 and traffic complaints.
In a video posted on the website Tuesday, Chief Bill Blair said social media will help police reach a new audience and provide more efficient service.
“I want the people in this city to have easy access to their police service and their police officers,” he said. “Social media can help us to achieve that.”
Other police forces are using social media to their advantage. After last month’s post-Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver, police received more than 3,500 email tips within five days, many linked to Facebook photos of the rioters.
Vancouver’s police chief has said he expects several hundred people to be charged as a result of the riot.
