Cops and Tweeters — Policing Via Twitter

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By: Doug Bedell

Policemen tend to be relational people — they need others to understand what they are doing, or to be their eyes and ears in a community. The best police work is involved with the communities it serves. And here, thanks to Don Power on Business2Community, are two police forces, one in Boise, Idaho, and the other in Abbotsford and New Westminster, British Columbia, that are relying on Twitter to relate well to their communities.

"Twitter has helped foster greater awareness, appreciation and participation for public safety," says Lynn Hightower, the Boise police department'scommunication's director. The Boise PD has 6,000 Twitter followers. Abbotsford, New Westminster and neighboring communities — covering a combined population 10 times that of Boise's 210,000 — has dubbed its Twitter feed iHit.

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About the Author

Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the owner of Resource Relations LLC in Central PA, focusing on organizational and crisis communication. He’s the community manager of SimplyFair.net, a social network on fairness. On the Web, Doug’s at www.ResourceRelations.com. On Twitter, he’s @DougBeetle.

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