Social-media sites have evolved at a rapid rate, but some local law enforcement officials remain cautious about using them.
Both the Ohio University and Athens police departments have discussed using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but have qualms about how it can be used. However, Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly has been posting for some time with positive results.
“People love it because they are getting the who, what, when and where from me,” Kelly said.
Kelly frequently updates his page with information on crimes, weather alerts, missing persons and road closures. He has about 4,000 subscribers on his official sheriff’s page and more than 5,000 friends on his personal page.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said he is not comfortable with the legal ramifications of posting police information to Facebook.
“I have concerns about public records with social media, so I’ve been against using it,” Pyle said. “If there could be more consistent rules in the courtroom, I’d be more willing. I don’t want to put us at a liability. I’m just not comfortable with where it’s at.”
One possible benefit of using social media would be that the departments could use Facebook and Twitter to supplement the email alerts that are already sent out, Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers said.
“Ideally, we could tweet and send status updates to send out timely information,” Powers said. “It’s an underutilized resource. We have it on our list of priorities.”
Powers said OUPD has both a Twitter account and a Facebook page reserved, but neither has been maintained as well as he would like.
“If we have a crime alert posted on a social-media site, someone may look at that before they would check email,” Powers said. “We could also potentially post a photo on Twitter of a wanted person and could ask followers if anyone knows them.”
One reason the department hasn’t done a lot with social media is because Powers is uncomfortable with how others could post inappropriate comments on the site.
“We contacted Facebook about the possibility of blocking comments on things that we post, but they never responded to us,” he said. “We want to be mindful of what we post and don’t want it to promote bullying and such.”
Kelly said he doesn’t see any potential problems with posting information on his pages.
“It’s no different with me posting stuff on Facebook than someone putting it in the paper,” Kelly said. “Social media, Facebook in particular, is a tool most sheriffs will use.”
In addition to disseminating information, local residents posting to the sheriff’s Facebook page have helped locate several missing kids and provided the department with valuable tips on crime in the area, he said.
“It has been an asset to me in my office,” Kelly said.
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