Law enforcement officers using social media as a tool more than ever before

This week, Columbia police posted two photos on social media of a truck that was wanted in connection with a hit-and-run. Less than 24 hours and 400 shares on Facebook later, the driver was in custody.

Law enforcement officers are now finding that social media can be a way to solve crimes and connect with citizens.

“It used to be people would watch the 6 o’clock news and that would be the daily event,” said Captain Doug Shoemaker, with the Jefferson City Police Department. “That’s how you got the news.”

Law enforcement officers are working to adapt to the new norm and while they still depend on their relationship with local news outlets, they can cast a wider net when it comes to identifying and catching criminals or just having a more personal relationship with citizens.

Often, law enforcement officers will tweet or post on Facebook about a crime that’s happened or an Amber Alert.

“Those types of things are helpful because sometimes people will see that and they’ll engage. They’ll share that, and one person who sees it shares it with multiple people who in turn share it with more people,” said Shoemaker. “It becomes this massive audience that we really just had to post once for.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has been using social media for investigations for years, but only in the past year has it been utilizing it to get out messages about things like road closures or ongoing investigations.

“We’ve got a pretty good following,” said Captain John Hotz. “We just hope to increase that following.”

Highway Patrol also has Twitter accounts for each troop in the state.

Last spring, the Highway Patrol launched an app that lets users report crimes, send in video tips or even just send an email.

“If something doesn’t look right, we encourage people to report that information via the app,” said Hotz.

Alerts are sent through the app and it features digital guides for drivers and motorcycle drivers.

Shoemaker said social media is also a tool that law enforcement officers can use to connect with people on a more personal level.

“It’s a lot of the stories that come to the heart that are most engaging to see what our jobs are really all about,” said Shoemaker. “It’s not the arrests and other things. It’s about the human interaction that takes place and what we do on a daily basis. I think for us, that can be very helpful in gaining that respect and trust of your community.”

Hotz said that while technology is a good tool, people should use it safely.

“It can cause distraction so please don’t use it while you’re driving down the road,” he said. “Please wait until you’re off in a parking lot somewhere or stopped in a safe location before using it.”