Florida Police Officer Live Tweets His Shift
Have you ever wanted to go on a police ride along like Kevin Hart and Ice Cube? Now you can by following @BBPD and the hashtag #ridewithBBPD on Twitter. Officer Ron Ryan with the Boynton Beach Police Department will live tweet his shifts periodically starting 2/18. Jay Leno, may his legend live forever, included police blotter updates in his headlines segment for the laughs. This is police blotter 2.0! Officer Ryan adds personality to the tweets, making mundane police activity a new form of entertainment.
Just a few more hours until Ofc Ryan goes 10-8. Join him at 5:30 pm for his first #Twitter ridealong. #ridewithbbpd
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 18, 2014
Ofc. Ryan#920 going 10-8 in car 4603. Sit back and enjoy the ride. #Ridewithbbpd — Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 18, 2014
Disturbance was all over baby mama drama via Facebook. Parties separated. No one injured. #ridewithbbpd — Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 18, 2014
51 to Bonefish Grill – CPR in progress – be back in a bit #ridewithbbpd — Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 18, 2014
Paperwork finished. 51 to a shopping mall. Retail theft in progress. A couple concealing items inside the storee. #ridewithbbpd — Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 19, 2014
Two people who were arguing over a cellphone on our arrival are now best friends again. Can you hear me now? #ridewithbbpd
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 19, 2014
Our guys/gals took an illegal gun off the street & saved a life with CPR. Not bad! Thanks for riding along. Over and out! #ridewithbbpd
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 19, 2014
Our guys/gals took an illegal gun off the street & saved a life with CPR. Not bad! Thanks for riding along. Over and out! #ridewithbbpd
— Boynton Beach Police (@BBPD) February 19, 2014
What we can learn from this…
. Add your own personality to your tweets and pick a unique voice
. Engage with your audience
. Create a unique hashtag so users can contribute to the conversation
. Promote what you’re up to in advance and get others talking about you
. Don’t be afraid to try something new
Officer Ryan is being touted as the first police officer to tweet during his shift, but he won’t be the last. Twitter is being used to engage a community in real-time. This a great example of what to do on Twitter how to stand out amongst others.
What do you think?
I’d love your thoughts on what @BBPD is doing on Twitter. Is this a good or bad idea? Should local law enforcement put down Twitter and focus on fighting crime, or should they continue to embrace new technology?