A Scottish police force will become the first in the UK to use social media while working in order to stay in touch with members of the public.
The Tayside force are taking part in a trial which will see eight of their community support officers logging onto Twitter during work hours to communicate up to the minute information with regards to traffic updates, outcomes from meetings, and also crime prevention advice.
The police force will also be one of the first to use a new online resource known as MyPolice. The site enables members of the public to communicate with their local police force, submitting feedback anonymously via the MyPolice website.
The authorities say they are always looking for new ways to communicate with the public and that the social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook offer the potential to open up a two conversation between the police and the public, especially with the younger members of the community who tend to be very involved with social networking sites.
Eight officers from the Tayside force will experiment with tweeting while on the beat as part of the trial. If the practice is deemed a success, the service may be rolled out across the country.
Leave a Reply