ConnectedCOPS Awards Finalists Announced

Lauri Stevens

LAwS Communications announces finalists in the ConnectedCOPS™ Awards, a new awards program for law enforcement using social media. The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created with the intent of recognizing the great work being done with social media in six categories, by individual sworn officers and law enforcement agencies. Winners will be announced at The SMILE Conference™ in Richmond, Va. on September 10, 2012.

“The ConnectedCOPS Awards are setting the bar for law enforcement agencies and officers,” said Lauri Stevens of LAwS Communications. “Until now they had nothing to gauge their work against. Now they will have examples of excellent work to strive to equal or improve upon.”

Joseph Porcelli, the director of engagement services for GovDelivery and GovLoop said, “LAwS Communications, through the ConnectedCOPS Awards, has filled the needed gap to recognize the contributions made by law enforcement organizations and individuals, which up until now have not received the credit they deserve.”

The ConnectedCOPS Awards finalists are:

Social Media Incident Management Award (Individual or Agency) (Sponsored by Nixle)

  • Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California
  • New South Wales Police, Australia
  • Queensland Police Service, Australia

Social Media Investigator Award (Individual) (Sponsored by LexisNexis)

  • Detective Ian Barraclough, Vancouver Police
  • Detective Mark Fenton, Vancouver Police
  • Detective Patricia van Dalen, Dutch Police, The Hague

Award of Excellence at a Large Agency

  • New South Wales Police, Australia
  • Reykjavik Metropolitan Police, Iceland
  • Toronto Police Service, Canada

Award of Excellence at a Small Agency

  • Billerica Police, Massachusetts
  • Redlands Police, California
  • Redwood City Police, California

Top Cop Award (Individual)

  • Gordon Scobbie, Deputy Chief Constable, Tayside, Scotland
  • Henk Van Der Linden, Rotterdam Police, Netherlands
  • Peter Sloly, Toronto Police, Canada
  • Stuart Hyde, Chief Constable, Cumbria Police, UK

Leadership Award (Individual)

  • Constable Ed Rogerson, Harrogate Police, North Yorkshire, UK
  • Constable Scott Mills, Toronto Police, Canada
  • Sergeant Jay Turner, Hamilton Police, Canada
  • Sergeant Rob Sutton, Portsmouth City Central Police,
  • Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
  • Special Constable Tom Stirling, North Yorkshire Police, UK

The first annual ConnectedCOPS Awards will be presented at the sixth Social Media the Internet and Law Enforcement (SMILE) Conference on September 10-12, 2012 in Richmond, Va. Winners in the above six categories will be honored and their achievement recognized. The SMILE Conference brings together one of the largest assemblages of law enforcement professionals from around the world to address the topics of social media strategy, reputation management, policy and other issues pertaining to community outreach. The three-day event will also emphasize information sharing and homeland security.

The sixth SMILE Conference is hosted by the Richmond Police Department. There will be a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, September 11, to further explore and discuss issues concerning social media and law enforcement that could not be fully addressed during the plenary session. For more information please visit http://www.TheSMILEConference.com.

The international panel of judges includes:

Sponsor Representatives

  • Nixle – Travis Scott, Vice President
  • LexisNexis – Susan Crandall, Marketing Lead, Law Enforcement

International Media Partners

International Support Partners

For award criteria, rules and judging information click here.

About LAwS Communications

LAwS Communications has been providing interactive media advice to law enforcement since 2005. Open Source communication technologies available today allow organizations to efficiently gather and distribute information like never before. LAwS Communications works with law enforcement professionals to help make sense of the tools available, help agencies craft a plan and social media policy as well as provide the training needed. LAwS Communications can help law enforcement organizations not only understand why an agency should take advantage of social media technologies, but also how to leverage these vast resources. LAwS Communications is located in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is a subsidiary of Stevens & Associates Inc.

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