Facebook continues to morph into the most massive social networking site known to man. As of a few days ago according to Facebook Statistics there are now over 500 million user accounts on this social networking monster. The amount of people on this site and the time people are participating (700 billion minutes monthly) on this site are phenomenal. Law enforcement as well as other business models have a huge opportunity to communicate with shareholders and constituents in this flourishing communication platform. A recent article by Muhammad Saleem on Mashable shows the number of Facebook users in the US and major US cities.
US Law enforcement agencies in particular have a huge opportunity to engage with their constituents. As you can see below New York has almost 4 million Facebook users Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston have approximately half their populations using Facebook and Philadelphia has approximately 100% of their population using Facebook.
Based on my experience in police work I personally see a huge value add in engagement with Facebook users by law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies have the opportunity to communicate their mission, crime prevention information, crimes in progress, wanted person information and the like for free on Facebook. The startling numbers of users on Facebook in Philadelphia alone would cause me as a detective to use Facebook as a location to potentially cultivate leads on criminal cases. The Facebook numbers are growing, at the time Muhammad Saleem developed the above graphics for Mashasble the Facebook population was just over 400 million. The numbers above are surely higher now and show no sign of slowing down.
Law enforcement agencies need to do more than set up a Facebook fan page, they need to engage and grow a community using their Facebook fan page. Law enforcement has a huge opportunity to engage people where they spend time and right now in the US it appears almost half the population is spending large amounts of time on Facebook. MV
Two days ago I attended the joint funeral of David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab, Tampa Police officer’s gunned down in the line of duty on 06/29/10. This is not the first joint double Tampa police officers’s funeral I have been two, but I hope it is my last. In 05/1998 I attended the funeral of Randy Bell and Ricky Childers who were also gunned down in the line of duty. I have never forgotten that funeral and I will never forget the Kocab/Curtis funeral. I knew and worked with Randy Bell, but did not know Ricky Childers other than his reputation, which was stellar. I also did not know Jeff or David, but after yesterday’s funeral I felt as I could have been one of them and “there before the grace of God go I.”
Both Jeff and David were exceptional police officers who died valiantly at the hands of a monster. The monster who would later give himself up was wanted for at least one other homicide, but may also have been connected to as many as three other homicides. One has to wonder what goes through an individual’s mind to decide that taking the life of not 1 but 2 police officers to evade arrest only to turn oneself in a few days later. Apparently not much! Not remorse, not compassion, not hope, surely just plain lack of conscience. The rest of us rational thinking people wonder to ourselves that if only he gave up and went to jail. He would have been charged with fewer crimes and there would be two families who would not be forever crushed by the loss of two good men. But that is not how it played out and now the aftermath for the families, TPD, and the community.
As I sat through the funeral with my family a flood of thoughts raced through my mind. As I looked across the sanctuary at Idlewild Church I saw thousands of law enforcement officers supporting the families, TPD, and law enforcement in general. There is no other profession that seems to bind individuals together more than law enforcement. Probably because the culture and brotherhood that is developed by individuals who choose this type of career. People asked me why did you go to the funeral, did you know them? No, I did not know Dave and Jeff, but really I did know Dave and Jeff. I know that Dave and Jeff like all other law enforcement officers are not just tough guys/gals with a badge. They are two guys that choose to make a difference in this world by the profession they choose, law enforcement. They got up went to work even though they knew the dangers of the job like the rest of us. They did not dwell on the danger or they would have been unable to cope with the tasks at hand. They did their job as they were trained. Don’t think for a second that lack of training or error on their part led to their deaths. Sometimes evil wins a battle. But in the end justice prevails, although bruised. There is no police training that can cover all dangerous situations police encounter. Things happen fast on the street and decisions are made by both bad guys and good guys that forever change lives. Jeff and David were two brave guys who loved what they did and were very good at doing it. They did their job on 06/29/10 and did it well. They ultimately should get credit for the arrest of the monster who killed them because it was their original attempted arrest that set a chain of events in motion that would take an unidentified serial killer off the streets of Tampa.
The families that have become fatherless, husbandless, childless as a result of this horrible tragedy will be healing for a long time to come. They will need the support to fill the void left by the loss of their love one’s. All of us can help these families and it is our job as a community to help them. Please, if you feel compelled donate to the Kocab/Curtis fund at Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union just follow this link: http://tampabayfcu.org/
I had the opportunity to attend the WIRED Business Conference, Disruptive by Design, on Monday 06/14/10 as a guest of Altegrity Risk International (ARI) Chairman Bill Bratton. He was one of the featured speakers at this conference. WIRED magazine is one of the most respected technological magazines of all time, and is touted as the first truly on-line international publication. Naturally, they are a good fit to oversee a conference focusing on the disruption of current and trending technologies.
Bill Bratton did a live interview during the conference… live in the fact that it was posted and sent out to all of WIRED’s subscriber and partner networks. As one of the nation’s most renowned law enforcement leaders, due to his success in both NYC and LA where he served as police commissioner and chief of police respectively, Bill Bratton was a natural choice for a conference of this kind. The main reason? A great deal of his success was due to crime busting system he pioneered called CompStat. CompStat is an analytical solution that provides real-time intelligence to law enforcement personnel in the field, and in the patrol car, so they can attack hot spots of criminal activity. As Chief Bratton explained how he used “push-pins” and “transparent charts” in CompStat’s early days a hush fell over the tech savvy crowd. Bratton then detailed how in the early 90’s he began to use a top-of-the-line computer for the day, which he purchased from Radio Shack. It was a Commodore 640. This drew applause from the audience and marked Bill as “one of those pioneers of the good old days.”
The method of attacking little crimes in neighborhoods is one of the CompStat systems key components and a big reason for the success of this law enforcement, crime busting ideals. During the interview with Chief Bratton, WIRED contributing editor Noah Shachtman, who also works at the Brookings Institution, kept prodding Bill with questions about the authenticity of the data surrounding CompStat. Shachtman directly asked the Chief how he could be certain the data was not being manipulated. Bratton, hesitated for just a second then replied that they “killed anyone who manipulated the data.” The auditorium erupted in applause and laughter, an outburst from the audience that had not been seen or heard at the conference.
Bill Bratton did an excellent job of demonstrating how “old school” police work with an analytical and accountable system better known as CompStat has effectively reduced crime. One of the best compliments Chief Bratton received was from WIRED Senior Editor Jason Tanz, who sat next to me during Bratton’s interview. Tanz at one point mentioned to me “this guy is great.”
Law enforcement has basically been at the mercy of the news media. Whether issuing press releases, responding to a high profile case, or requesting help from citizens in a missing person case the police were (are) at the behest of the media to communicate there message.
Social media offers alternative options for law enforcement agencies to take control of their communication and messaging. Facebook fan pages, Twitter, blogs, iPhone apps, podcasting, YouTube, are just a few social media channels that allow law enforcement to call the shots on their messaging. There is a shift in control when law enforcement can offensively deploy a press release to Twitter or Facebook for the general public, which includes the press agencies. Press conferences can be pre-determined through simple video podcasting efforts with editing prior to release and posting to agencies websites, blogs, or YouTube for release to the world wide web. Best of all these communications options are very inexpensive.
The premise is law enforcement no longer has to rely on the media for press coverage. They can take control of their messaging and reach a larger audience. One law enforcement agency that has taken the leap by issuing press release through social media sites only is the Boca Raton Police Department. The media responded to the Boca Raton PD by running a mostly negative news spot, but they have now become use to obtaining press releases through Facebook and Twitter.
Social media offers law enforcement alternatives on getting their message out, which will allow them to control investigations better, keep better public relations, and so on. Mike Vallez
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