Law Enforcement officials have another weapon in hand to inform and keep the public safe, one that you may have already been using for years.
“We recently started this year tweeting,” said Don Hughes, Kansas State Highway Patrol Public Resource Officer.
Kansas has troopers all across the state that are now on their phones tweeting daily.
“We knew we wanted to stay within the focus of the patrol and talk about issues that were important to the traveling public, for the motoring public where we could help them get around traffic incidents, where we could help them avoid or be prepared for weather conditions and road conditions and we join in with KDOT in doing that,” said Hughes
It’s a tool the Missouri State Highway Patrol plans to add to its on resources next year. MSHP Sgt. Jake Long said plans are in the works.
“The committee that we’ve put together to look into this I know that they’ve talked to other state agencies, I know that they’ve talked to Kansas in particular just to see what they’re doing, how they’re doing it just to gather ideas and information so we can proceed in a logical and efficient manner,” said Long.
How the public is informed will change dramatically as more troopers begin to utilize social media, particularly Twitter.
“If we had a wreck, a bad accident, a roadway was blocked, a spill something of hazardous material or something or a roadway was going to be shutdown,” said Long. “Before we would have to try to get it to the media outlets but a lot of people they’re not watching TV constantly or they may not have their radio on but who do you know who’s not carrying around a cellphone or a tablet? If you can put that information out for instance just in a tweet people can get it instantaneously and it can impact more people and faster.”
Instead of going directly through the media to inform the public the Highway Patrol is now going directly to you. It’s a move that Kansas said has cut down on the amount of time involved in dealing with Media Relations.
“Each one of us are in charge of different Troops and my troop happens to be the Topeka area which incorporates Doniphan County, Brown County, 12 counties around the Topeka/Shawnee county area and I said Ben I don’t think I have the time we’re short-handed I don’t have the help and he showed me how I could use this to stop returning so many phone calls and it’s really been a bonus to me,” said Hughes. “I like to be able to get the opportunity to address questions not only from the media but from the public and that gives us an avenue for both we still take the time to meet like I’m doing with you today.”
However, not every Trooper will be Tweeting.
“I don’t think you’ll see it so much from the trooper that’s on the road every day that’s out there tweeting,” said Long. “It will be people more like in my job, public information education, getting information out in a timely manner, and even educational postings or tweets whatever the case may be.”
Before you start seeing Troopers Tweeting in Northwest Missouri Long said a lot of training is needed.
“There’s a lot of us and I’m right on that border of the computer age you know we’re just learning it,” said Lon.g “It’s going to require some training but I think it’s going to be a good thing.”
#tweetingtroopers is not something Hughes ever thought he would refer to himself as.
“It’s pretty hard to say tweeting troopers manly,” said Hughes.
However, social media is a direction almost all Law Enforcement departments are heading towards if not already utilizing.
“Several conferences I’ve been to it has been the talk,” said Hughes. “We have been lucky enough to be at the forefront of that and we have been asked to speak.”