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VicPD 2.0 How the police beat crime with social media tools Danielle Pope News staff
T
he Victoria Police Department is far from deploying robocops to patrol our streets, but changes in social media and new technologies have played a huge role in how the force now fights
crime. From Twitter and Facebook to Pinterest and Reddit, VicPD has taken on a multitude of new platforms to build community engagement and keep an ear to the ground. And, whether its officers recording safety videos for their YouTube channel or the affiliated Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers gleaning anonymous tips online, technology has changed the way police forces around the world are doing business. “It is tough to tell, on my end, how these tools have impacted crime rates, but we do see examples where people are tweeting us with updates of things they see,” says VicPD spokesperson and social media officer Const. Mike Russell. Social media isn’t lighthearted fun for the force, however. With accounts of people now facing criminal charges due to publicly documented events like the 2011 Stanley Cup riots, digital tools are becoming more important than ever before.
See story Page A7 Const. Mike Russell
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