Local law enforcement agencies find themselves with some ‘splaining to do when they interact with people online through social media. For the Vancouver Police Department, it’s reminding people that their agency is in Washington, not British Columbia. And we’re part of the Clark County in Washington — not Nevada.
But one thing they don’t think they should have to be ‘splaining is that social media is not the place to report a crime.
During May, the Vancouver Police Department got three messages sent to its Facebook profile that should have been calls to 911, said agency spokeswoman Kim Kapp.
Kapp, who monitors the pages, forwarded the messages to police officers and tried to explain to people that they shouldn’t report crimes through Facebook.
“911 — that’s always there 24/7,” she said.
When the Vancouver Police Department first signed up for Facebook five years ago, it was used primarily as a recruitment tool. Over time, the fan base turned to city residents, volunteers and agency personnel. Nowadays, the page posts photos of cops, information about community events and links to articles about the agency (often written by yours truly).
The department can use Twitter to broadcast photos of people the police are seeking. Last year, a library employee who follows the Vancouver Police Department’s Twitter account saw a tweet about a missing boy, then looked up and saw him in the library.
She then called 911.
The beauty of social media, Kapp said, is that people feel they have close relationships with organizations they follow online. But these pages aren’t monitored all the time. The fastest way to get help from law enforcement is to call 911.
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