Nwicker60
25-Nov-11, 18:00
Another channel of communication for the police
THE NORTHERN Joint Police Board heard today about how Northern Constabulary are using social media innovatively and effectively to communicate and engage with the public.
The advances in technology over the past few years mean that increasing numbers of people are now accessing their news and information from computers and handheld devices and in particular from social media sites. There are over 125,000 Facebook users in the Highlands and Islands – around a third of the population.
Northern Constabulary was the first force in Scotland to begin to use social media sites in November 2009 and now have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, You-Tube and the more recent Google+. The Force now has around 3500 followers of its Facebook page.
Head of Corporate Communications, Ruth Cleland said: "We see social media as another channel of communication in addition to, and not replacing, the traditional media of radio, TV and newspapers.
"The benefits are significant in that we can communicate directly with members of the public and the media in real time. It is fast, free and measurable. We use these sites to signpost information on our website and informational videos on our You-tube site. A recent example is a link to our video on advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud at ATMs. This video received over 620 hits and the link was re-tweeted by other forces. Other examples include the rapid dissemination of appeals for missing people. A recent case of a missing teenager resulted in 360 “shares” – this means that our followers make the appeal visible to their followers on their own Facebook pages. If each follower had just 100 friends then the appeal would have been seen by 36,000 people!"
Convener of the Northern Joint Police Board, Norman M MacLeod said: "I highly recommend that people use these social media sites to get valuable information and advice. Especially coming into the winter weather, such modern technology can keep us up to date with weather warnings and local information. Other useful warning and informing sites are the "handiprepared" facebook and twitter pages for the Highlands and Islands Strategic Coordinating Group and the Western Isles Emergency Planning Group (WIEPG) facebook page."
Ruth added: "If you are not already a “follower” you can find these sites by going onto the Northern Constabulary website www.northern.police.uk and follow the links on the bottom left corner of the home page."
Northern Constabulary is currently running an advert for their Facebook page targeted at users in the Highlands and Islands.
THE NORTHERN Joint Police Board heard today about how Northern Constabulary are using social media innovatively and effectively to communicate and engage with the public.
The advances in technology over the past few years mean that increasing numbers of people are now accessing their news and information from computers and handheld devices and in particular from social media sites. There are over 125,000 Facebook users in the Highlands and Islands – around a third of the population.
Northern Constabulary was the first force in Scotland to begin to use social media sites in November 2009 and now have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, You-Tube and the more recent Google+. The Force now has around 3500 followers of its Facebook page.
Head of Corporate Communications, Ruth Cleland said: "We see social media as another channel of communication in addition to, and not replacing, the traditional media of radio, TV and newspapers.
"The benefits are significant in that we can communicate directly with members of the public and the media in real time. It is fast, free and measurable. We use these sites to signpost information on our website and informational videos on our You-tube site. A recent example is a link to our video on advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud at ATMs. This video received over 620 hits and the link was re-tweeted by other forces. Other examples include the rapid dissemination of appeals for missing people. A recent case of a missing teenager resulted in 360 “shares” – this means that our followers make the appeal visible to their followers on their own Facebook pages. If each follower had just 100 friends then the appeal would have been seen by 36,000 people!"
Convener of the Northern Joint Police Board, Norman M MacLeod said: "I highly recommend that people use these social media sites to get valuable information and advice. Especially coming into the winter weather, such modern technology can keep us up to date with weather warnings and local information. Other useful warning and informing sites are the "handiprepared" facebook and twitter pages for the Highlands and Islands Strategic Coordinating Group and the Western Isles Emergency Planning Group (WIEPG) facebook page."
Ruth added: "If you are not already a “follower” you can find these sites by going onto the Northern Constabulary website www.northern.police.uk and follow the links on the bottom left corner of the home page."
Northern Constabulary is currently running an advert for their Facebook page targeted at users in the Highlands and Islands.