BARTLETT, Tenn. — It seems almost everyone is turning to social media these days including law enforcement. The Bartlett Police Department was recognized for its social media campaign. The International Association for Chiefs of Police ranked the department in the top ten for social media in a department of their size, which is around 110 officers.
“The first thing I do when I wake up is check it, the last thing I do before bed is check it,” Lieutenant Todd Halford said.
Halford handles the keystrokes and mouse clicks behind Bartlett PD’s Facebook page and Twitter account.
He said his department is combining the power of Facebook with the public’s help to get the bad guys off the streets.
“The benefits. It’s cheap, it’s fast, it’s easy, just about everybody has access to it,” Halford said.
The Facebook page has more than 18,700 “likes” or followers who use it to stay up to date with what’s going on.
Sitting in front of a computer Monday morning, Halford explained why the page has been so successful.
“This is a very easy way for us to communicate. A lot of people don’t want to flag down an officer, they don’t want an officer to come to their house, all they have to do is drop us a message on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll respond,” he said.
The department looks for the public’s help, too. Every few weeks, they release a “Most Wanted” list. The crimes the suspects have committed range from forgetting to pay a fine to a felony.
Another popular post is “ID This Person.” About once a week, a picture of a suspect is posted from when they were the in the middle of committing a crime. The most recent post was a suspect wanted for a purse robbery.
Halford sais asking for the public’s help works, they have a 70 percent successful identification rate.
The police department also said while social media is a good place for communicating, if you need to report a crime, you still need to call the police department.