Bay of Plenty Police will be joining law enforcement agencies from around the world this week to increase awareness of police work via social media.
The first Global Police Tweet-a-thon will see officers and staff from eight countries tweet about their experiences from the frontline giving a snapshot of the work that they do and the issues they face on a daily basis. Messages will be sent out from nearly 150 different Twitter accounts.
Globally the tweet-a-thon will run for 24 hours from 8am on Friday (22 March) with agencies operating for all or any part of that period. Due to time zones New Zealand and Australia will be first out of the blocks.
New Zealand Police will be tweeting from 8am until midnight using three accounts - @BOPPolice, @BetterWorkStory, @ManukauPolice - and the event hashtag #poltwt
In fact you may even spot a few early tweets as Taupo's Tauhara Paetiki Neigbourhood Policing Team kick off their shift at 5.30am and at 6am they will be involved with CACTUS, a military style physical training programme helping youth aged 13 to 17 to experience a change in lifestyle.
The team already has a popular Facebook presence (www.facebook.com/tauharanpt) and team member Constable Ross Humphrey, recently hit media headlines with his infamous Gangnam style dance moves.
Acting District Commander for Bay of Plenty Police, Detective Inspector Tim Anderson, said: "We ran a similar exercise on New Year's Eve in Tauranga which resulted in really positive feedback from our Twitter followers. It enabled us to interact in real time giving people an insight into the work we do and providing them with tips and information that will hopefully prevent them from becoming future victims of crime.
"The popularity of social media continues to grow so as a communication tool it makes perfect sense. We're looking forward to Twitter users joining us on this global venture and it will be interesting to see the similarities and differences between New Zealand and overseas law enforcement agencies."
Media enquiries should be referred to Communications Manager Kim Perks on 027 234 8256.
Additional notes:
• It is important to note that Twitter should NOT be used to report incidents or crimes. Anyone needing emergency assistance should use the 111 system. Non-urgent reports should be made through the local police.
• In the interests of privacy no identities of individuals or addresses of incidents will be shared via Twitter. Although the Twitter feed will be in real time there may be instances where a slightly delayed message is needed in order to protect the safety of individuals involved.
• A full list of the agencies participating can be found on Google map