| By Chandra Johnson The Taos News Anyone who thinks Facebook is a waste of time has never met Taos Police Chief Rick Anglada. In the month since he was sworn in as chief, Anglada has catapulted his department into cyberspace to connect with the community through Facebook, Twitter and The Taos News' text and e- mail alert system. "We in law enforcement can't do it alone," he said, comparing the outreach to successful technology leaps like AMBER Alerts. "It gets thousands of eyes and ears looking in addition to the two or three patrolmen on shift." And the project is already postcard printing getting the department results. Anglada used the department's Facebook and Twitter pages to broadcast that they were looking for Lawrence Miera, one of the men ac.sed of badly .tting and beating a man Jan. 31. Word traveled fast and the department got a call from Miera the day before he was arrested during a traffic stop. "He called in and told us he knew we were looking for him," he said. "We think Facebook was how he learned we were looking for him so quickly." Some might argue that alerts tip off crooks trying to lie low, Anglada says the system makes it harder to hide. "First, if they've committed a crime and we've got a warrant, they know we're looking for them," he said. "It also puts pressure on them because everyone replica breitling else knows about it. If it works to get them to turn themselves in, all the better." For Anglada, the move isn't just about updating the department's tools, it's about reaching the community in a variety of ways. "People now are more comfortable reading something off a computer screen or a text. I think it will eventually become an everyday thing with law enforcement," he said. "We think it will stir up more tips and get people more comfortable with us." Pandora Beads Wholesale Because so many people use sites like Twitter and Facebook, the department's page also serves as a sounding board for people who might not regularly chime in. "It takes a whole community to be successful. The public does have to take ownership and it can't ever just be a police issue," he said. "If one person reads a safety tip or some advisement that we post on our site, we've made a difference. If it saves one person, it's worth it." Check out both The Taos News and the Taos Police Department on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for the police department's alerts at taosnews.com/textme.w Other articles:http://blogs.digitalmediaonlineinc.com/mywatches/entry/2010030316http://www.idcg.com.cn/bbs/Blog.asp?BlogUserName=mywatche&menu=ShowBlog&BlogID=417http://www.ejproperties.com/Free-attack-alarms-for-the-vul.htmlhttp://www.henauhy.net/House-fire-prior-wedding-kills.htmlhttp://bestdriver.mtv.it/blog.php?user=mywatches&blogentry_id=174 | |
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