news-record.com

BLOGS

The Crime Scene

Fighting crime one tweet at a time

Tuesday night, neighbors from across the city became acquainted at National Night Out events. They shared laughs, mingled with police and ate hot dogs all in the name of crime-prevention.

A High Point resident told the News & Record, “Neighbors and guests shared experiences, words of encouragement and offered suggestions for working together with police to help keep our community safe, prevent crime and other illegal or dangerous activities.”

I wonder if any of the neighbors suggested using Twitter to combat crime.

Yes, Twitter, the social media Web site that Paula Abdul used to announce her resignation from American Idol.

Well, Twitter is good for other things. A neighborhood association in Austin, Texas, is pondering the use of 140-character messages to warn neighbors of suspicious activity. The real-time messages allow neighbors to quickly know when a suspect is lurking around a school or has stolen a bike.

Even police departments have tweeted. UNCG police announced a crime alert for armed robbery on July 6. I didn’t find any other local law enforcement agencies on Twitter.

Major metropolitan areas, such as Boston and Baltimore, are known for using Twitter.

On Wednesday, Baltimore police tweeted: BARRICADE - 2904 Denham Cr-Units have 2 armed robbery suspects inside of dwelling.

About 90 minutes later, a Tweet read: UPDATE BARRICADE: 2904 DENHAM CR.-SITUATION SECURED, SUSPECTS WERE NOT INSIDE LOCATION.

What do you think about tweeting to curtail crime? Tell the News & Record how your community uses social media. Better yet, tweet me @DioniWise.