Using Social Media to Combat Crime

[**bgurley]

 

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office has been online communicating with our citizens through social networking sites since April 2009 and has had great success with this method of information sharing. The sheriff’s office must have the support of our community to be successful. Communication is the key to establishing and maintaining an effective relationship with the public. Social networking is a communication tool that allows the sheriff’s office to provide information to, and receive information from local subscribers.

 

The Sheriff’s Office officially launched their first social networking tool, Nixle.com, to the public in June 2009. Nixle was designed to deliver important and timely information to residents in our area using the latest technology. Nixle delivers trustworthy and important neighborhood-level public safety and community event notifications by web, email, and cell phone. Nixle is completely free, simple, and trusted. Register now and learn more at www.nixle.com then share this new service with friends and neighbors to spread the word.

 

A few months later, the sheriff’s office began using Twitter to reach out to those individuals who prefer to “tweet.” The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office can be found on Twitter as “PauldingSheriff.” The “followers” on Twitter will receive the same Nixle messages in the form of a “tweet” with a link to take them to the Nixle website for the full message.

 

Do you use Facebook? You can find us there too! Just search for “Paulding County Sheriff” to find our official fan page with many photos, videos, and messages pertaining to the daily operations and community functions of the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. Did you see a story that impressed you posted on Facebook? Tell us about it in the comments section. We look forward to connecting with many more citizens throughout our community.

 

“These services will allow us to share important information with our citizens very quickly,” said Paulding County Sheriff Gary Gulledge. “They can receive this information and then respond to us immediately with the information that we may need to solve a crime or locate a missing child or person,” he added.

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[**bgurley]

View 11Alive.com for the full story

 

DALLAS, GA -- When a person goes missing or a crime is in progress, every second matters.

 

That's why Paulding County's Sheriff's Office isn't waiting for a middle man to get the word out. It's embraced social media like Facebook, Twitter and Nixle to immediatly alert people when they need the information most.

 

Nixle provides subscribers with actionable information specific to their zip code or city via free e-mails and texts (standard text messaging rates apply).

 

"Recently we had a rash of car break-ins in a housing subdivision; we had about 17 in one night," said Corporal Brandon Gurley with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. "So I alerted everyone who lived within a five mile radius of the area. We let citizens know what happened and [reminded them] to make sure to remove any valuables from sight and lock their car doors -- simply ideas to deter that from happening on their property."

 

The next night, there weren't any break-ins. While he says that may have just been a coincidence, "I would like to think our message helped empower homeowners with the steps to protect their property."

 

Corporal Gurley says social media helps officers track down all types of individuals.

 

"When we've had missing children or missing elderly people, we're able to tell the public immediatly, so they know immediatly to call us," he said.

 

In a recent case of a fugitive on the run, the department sent a message to all residents in the area of the search. "People were told if you see someone matching this description, do not approach him; call 911," said Corporal Gurley. "We were able to get a tip that let to an arrest."

 

It's not all about crime.

 

"We can also notify citizens of evacuations," he said. "Say we have a major accident or gas leak, we can alert them via Nixle." The county's E-911 Communications Center also uses Nixle to send out traffic alerts. The secure site works directly with municipal agencies.

 

The county began using social media last April and has more than 2,000 Nixle subscribers and Facebook fans.

[MillCreek]

Just saw the story on 11Alive, before seeing it here on P.com -- Way to Go, PCSO!!!!

[gtfamily]

I subscribe to nixle and get texts all the time about stuuf! It's great!! If there is a county emergency nixle is the first to let me know'