PC Ed Rogerson is one of a growing number of Police Officers using social networking whilst out on patrol. He uses Twitter to give local communities updates of where he is patrolling, information on incidents he has been involved in and advice. Quoted from the BBC, he said “It works on a far more local level than the force-wide Facebook group…It’s local to Harrogate and our problems.” By using technologies that residents are comfortable with and use frequently he can engage and communicate with them effectively. Having a local officer providing the information it also gives the community ownership of the updates and a sense of belonging. PC Rogerson maintains that this is not a replacement to traditional methods of communicating with the public but is to be used alongside other methods; “Doing either in isolation might be fine, but by doing both we can spread that warning even further.”
Social Networking could be used in a similar way to communicate and engage with the public in the Fire Service. Firefighters could communicate with the public via Facebook about what they have done on their shift, the areas they have visited, advice specific to the area they cover and updated information on that particular area. The residents could then also respond to the Fire Fighters and ask them questions or advice which hasn’t been covered. This open communication would build relationships between the Fire Service and the public and encourage engagement, utilising technology which is fast growing and already embedded into many people’s lives.
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