Having worked with law enforcement and Crime Stoppers, I have learned a few things that many don’t get to see. I have also had the privilege of being the first person to help Crime Stoppers “Leave a Tip” anonymously via Facebook. I created the “Leave A Tip” tab on Facebook for Crime Stoppers. This gives Crimes Stoppers another means to receive anonymous tips from the public at large. When social media and law enforcement meet, it makes for interesting times. And just in case you are wondering, the tip is not left on Facebook. The person leaving the crime tip clicks on a button that opens up a secure web site. The IP address is stripped away, and only the raw crime data remains for Crime Stoppers. Social media is paying off big time for Crime Stoppers.
Today the law enforcement community is trying to figure out how to make both social media and law enforcement work together. The best example to date of someone I know using social media in law enforcement is Scott Mills from the Toronto Police Service. I met Scott at the Crime Stoppers International Training Conference. From what I have seen so far, Scott is one of the few people in law enforcement that is reaching out and seeing absolutely specular results. Not only is Scott great on social media, but he is super in real life. He is a credit to the Toronto Police Service. His actions are putting that department on the cutting edge. The number of crime tips are up because of Scott’s efforts. Scott is a real driving force for seeing Facebook “Leave A Tip” tabs appear on Crime Stopper Facebook Pages. Furthermore, Scott is growing his connections on social media and in real life better than most people. His influence is growing day by day in the community as well as the online community.
So what can we learn from people like Scott Mills? First of all, Scott is a go getter. He does not sit around and wait for things to happen. He is out there in real life and on social media. He is connecting to many people using his great people skills. He is not too shy either. This is a good trait to have in social media. Scott is putting a good face on law enforcement with the upcoming generation. He is so relate able to the young people. With this in mind, we should not wait for good things to happen. We should get out there and see good things happen.
Secondly, Scott uses many means of connecting on social media. One moment he is on his Blackberry tweeting in the streets; the next in the office, sending out info on Facebook from his Mac . Scott makes great connections. He is developing great lines of communication with others on a regular basis. In my opinion, this is going to push him ahead of others in law enforcement and in other organizations. What can we learn? We need to make sure that we are leveraging our social media activities by all means possible; when ever possible.
Thirdly, Scott has a great sense of what he is about. As a police officer, Scott knows what to share and when to share it. As you can imagine, many cringe when they see a police officer on social media. What if he shares the wrong thing? So far, I have never seen Scott share anything inappropriately. As a matter of fact, I have seen Scott use great wisdom when dealing with people on social media. What can we learn? We need to have a clear idea of what we are doing on social media and what we are really about.
I have always been one to seek after people doing things right. I want to learn from their example. Now it’s your turn. Who do you know that is a great person to watch and what can we learn from them?
