Police experimenting with beat-tweets

| 04/05/2012

article-1306321878058-0CBA01E6000005DC-974421_466x310.jpg(CNS): The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) is turning to technology and social networking to keep the community informed. Starting on Tuesday, Neighborhood Officer PC Sharon Baillie “will Tweet from the Beat” as she works in the communities of West Bay, the RCIPS said. This pilot programme will be monitored over the next few weeks and it is hoped that it will then be rolled out to the other districts. Acting Superintendent Robert Scotland is an enthusiastic supporter of social media and hopes it will help engage people with their local officers .

“I see this as a very positive step forward in keeping people within our communities better informed,” he said. “It will, in a way, demystify the role of the police officer. Everyone is using smartphones nowadays and we aim to capitalise on that to break down barriers and engage with people, young and old.”

PC Baillie will message via the general RCIPS Twitter account – @ caymanpolice – but will sign her tweets “PC Baillie – WB”. She admitted to being a little nervous about entering into the world of social media but said she was is willing to embrace any avenue of communication that can assist her in her role.

“The concept of Tweet from the Beat is an interesting one,” she says. “But if it helps get our messages out into the wider public and encourages people to get more involved with what we do it can only be a good thing.”

If you want to receive Tweets from the Beat sign up to follow caymanpolice on Twitter.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    The idea is to promote a better relationship between the community and the RCIPS. Many other police services world-wide use social networking, like Facebook, MySpace, etc., especially to engage with the youth…and it works. So stop complaining about officers using a cell phone while driving and the likes. One issue has nothing to do with the other.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Officer Baillie has done more for the community of West Bay than anyone from the outside looking in could imagine. She makes an enormous effort to interact with school children, merchants, restaurants…in a climate where people are afraid to come forward with information and many kids have no respect for authority figures, she is single handedly working to combat these issues. If she thinks Tweeting will help to improve her relationships with her community, then "here here." 

  3. Anonymous says:

    If the cap fits-let them wear it!

  4. Anonymouse says:

    Damned if you do and damned if yu don't. I don't tweet but at least the beat officer is trying something. Lets give her some props for that and see how it works out. Especially for the people on her beat. It would be interesting to see a follow-up story in about 6 months, from the neighbourhood's perspective.

  5. Bobby Sue says:

    @caymanpolice. “got the donuts, meet me at our spot in the dykes”

    • Anonymous says:

      Is this part of the newly appointed  Dep Governor's plan to encourage the use of social media in the civil service? I recall reading something in the news papers quoting him but whilet this might appear as something good on the surface it could easily become an unncessary and dangerous distraction for the officers.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Here we go again – negative, negative, negative. But what else do we expect in Cayman.

  7. Neo Survivor says:

    Hey, if it helps to aprehend just one criminal, I think it's worth it.    Think about it — we're all connected and now what we see can be recorded.   

    I think it's a potentially beneficial idea and will be signing up.   Good on RCIP for using the existing technology.   Be brave, PC Baillie — you'll be an old pro in no time;  the very worst than can happen is that we get a better sense of the RCIP, and the best is that it actually does some good.  

  8. Anonymous says:

    Just what we need, more police officers playing on their cell phones instead of doing their jobs. Tweeting is fine for the small amount of people that can be bothered but has a limited value against a public announcement. If the two robberies commited within the last two days were immediately broadcast on public radio or texted to all cell phones, the chances of being caught within the small window of opportunity offered must be greater. Come on RCIP, think beyond a narrow band of users and stop cops from using phones whilst driving or for any unofficial purpose whilst on duty.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Great idea, imagine if people were told to look out for the dark Honda from the bank robbery yesterday, someone might have seen who dumped the car.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Seriously???  Out on the beat and tweeting???? Huh, wonder if it will be done while operating a moving vehicle or will they at least have the common sense and decency to pull over and "tweet" ….. good grief, huh,just thinking but wouldn't it be better to actually lift your head up from your smart phone device and OBSERVE WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON AROUND YOU and NOTICE the criminal activity as it is happening in real time as opposed to tweeting to the public….just saying, excuse me, that thunking noise you hear is me beating my head against the wall

    • Anonymous says:

      And now the criminals will know EXACTLY where the cop is when they execute their crimes! (Or do you suppose that criminals don't have smartphones?)

    • Anonymous says:

      your ignorance is hilarious, i feel bad for you.