The Kentucky State Police Are Finding Success Using Social Media

I love to read a news article on the web that highlights a law enforcement agency that is using social media and being successful at it. Some may say social media success for law enforcement has to be measured by arrests, crimes prevented or some numerical value. However, successful use of social media for law enforcement is more of a “loss leader.” If an agency broadens their audience, informs their constituents, and yes ultimately prevents crime then they should consider social media a valuable communication tool. One such agency that is rocking social media is the Kentucky State Police.

The Kentucky State Police are using social media and have found success in doing so. Unlike most law enforcement agencies someone at the Kentucky State Police found value in communicating through social media. They have a successful Facebook fan page which has just about 17,000 people who like it (including me). They post everything from crime prevention tips, wanted people pic’s, criminal activity information, and more to their Facebook Fan Page. The Kentucky State Police also use Twitter to push out their message. A quick check of their website shows that the Kentucky State police prominently display their Facebook fan page feed and Twitter link for web users to follow them on those social networking sites.

While law enforcement is still finding out how to implement social media some agencies such as the Kentucky State Police have realized the value in communicating through social networking websites. Hopefully, over the next year law enforcement will realize the low cost big messaging benefit that is possible by using social media. MichaelVallez.com