Today's podcast is brought to you by: Need? Do you really need to follow the police on social media? Very simply put, yes you do. You need to follow your local city police, county police and state police. Some of you may be thinking that, “Tim, I already abide by the laws, I’m a good citizen, why do I need to follow the police? ” Well that’s a great question and the best answer I have is because you are exactly who they need to follow them. That’s right, the police need you to follow...

The episode is brought to you by....   Chris Rasmussen has been a police officer for 20 years and works with the Redwood City Police Department. He is a devoted family man, community member and all around great guy. I've been following Chris for many years and consider him one of the "OGs" of law enforcment's social media use.  Redwood City has a diverse population but the greatest population base there speaks SPanish so it only seemed logical to Chris that they should establish a...

This episode is brought to you by:   You can't argue that great use of social media for your agency (business) is both an art form and a science. Chances are you want to increase your voice in the social space and understanding how to use both artistic creativity combined with science will improve your ability to be shared. 1) Quote or ReTweet: I have become a huge fan of the Quote feature especially in those instances that I want to add my thoughts about why I'm sharing the...

Today's point to ponder is brought to you by: Policies, procedures, guidelines and training all attempt to help and guide a law enforcement officer's decision-making and set the boundaries for what should and shouldn't be done. But, is that enough? Police are to be neutral and leave their opinions at the door when they walk out on the street to enforce laws and protect the public. All too often lately we are seeing that the opinions expressed while off-duty can easily carry over into...

Today's Podcast is brought to you by:   Chief Billy Grogan has been a fan, user and teacher of social media for law enforcement as long as he has been the Chief. In fact, he is the @LESMChief on Twitter! Chief Grogan knew from the time that Dunwoody Georgia Police came into existence, social and digital media would play a role in how they would engage with their community, build relationships and foster an environment that allowed a trusting relationship to grow. In the beginning it...

  This episdoe is brought to you by...  Instagram is the social media platform that out performs every other platform in terms of pure engagement. Instagram Tips   The Basics – Point and Shoot Fill Out Your “Bio” Section Make sure your bio is complete. Take the time to fill it out correctly. You really want people to know who you are and what you’ll be sharing. Learn How to Take Great Pictures on Your Phone The mobile nature of your smart phone combined with Instagram is the...

Today's point to ponder is brought to you by... So many of us started out our working life by sitting at the side of a road, at the end of our driveway with a sign that read, "Lemonade." It's almost a childhood rite of passage to try and earn some extra money by selling lemonade, kool-aid or cold water on a hot day. I can't tell you how many times while riding my police motor or driving the squad that I would stop at a lemonade stand and buy a glass and talk with kids and parents...

The episode is brought to you by... How would you like to get 1.2 MILLION Facebook likes, in 48 HOURS??? Nick Whitney, owner of Tread Armament and Weaponry put out a challenge to help equip Tank, a Washington Utah police K9 in training, with body armor if Tank could get 1 million likes in one year. Well, Tank got the 1 million likes but it only took 48 hours!! That got my attention and I had to talk to Nick about his offer and why he put it out there with Vesting America's Police...

Today's episode is brought to you by... Public Information Officers from across the country gathered in Arlington, Texas for the International Association of Chiefs of Police Mid-Year Public Information Officers Conference hosted by the Arlington and Fort Worth Police Department's. It was a great three days of learning, teaching and networking with like minded people that are all committed to advancing the ability of police agencies to build relationships, trust and transparency within...

Today's episode is brought to you by; About a week ago, online superstar, celebrity, marketing maven, fitness expert and tribe builder Chalene Johnson got the surprise of her life...she got hacked! Chalene wasn't the target of the hack because she is famous, a celebrity or wealthy...she was hacked because she was an accessible target like thousands of others that become victims on a daily basis.  There are always three elements needed for crime to happen. A criminal An opportunity A...

Today's podcast is brought to you by... I woke up yesterday morning to a Twitter stream full of one of the worst things possible in my mind...a police department under attack by a man with assault rifles and bombs. By now most of us know the story of James Boulware and his attack on the Dallas Police Department.  I became aware of it because of the awesome feed by the Dallas Police Department and Major Max Geron on Twitter. It didn't take long to see a few tweets and turn my office into...

Today's podcast is brought to you by: Mike Russell has been a mainstay as the face of the Victoria Police Department in British Columbia, Canada for a few years now. He is well known within both the policing community and also the everyday people community. Mike is also known online as "Community Mike" because of his committment to building communities and being part of the greater good. From his website you learn everything there is to know about Mike in the first line,  "I connect...

Today's episode is brought to you by Robert Tornabene is an active sworn police officer from the Greater Chicago area. He has taken what he has learned in policing and helps police officers and the community become safer and better prepared in the social age.  Robert has experience as a school resource officer, gang officer, public information officer and front line patrolman and supervisor that have all leant themselves to helping him establish Gate America, a training resource for the...

Today's podcast is brought to you by... Mark Economou is the Public Information Officer of the Boca Raton Police Department which is situated on the Atlantic Coast of the great state of Florida.  Made famous by Seinfeld, Mark is quick to point out that it's not just all old people eating at 4pm and living in retirement villages...Boca is much more than that and is one of the fastest growing parts of Florida. Mark is a transplant from the New England area and is a die-hard Red Sox,...

Nick Selby co-founded StreetCred Software, which is a software-as-a-service offering created by police officers who understand how police officers use information, data and leads. StreetCred helps law enforcement agencies manage their arrest warrants, eliminate warrant backlogs and improve efficiency while increasing officer safety. Nick also serves part-time as an investigator for the Midlothian (TX) Police Department, focused on organized retail and cyber crime, and volunteers as a reserve...

Today's podcast is brough to you by: Chief Devon Clunis is committed to youth and his community, which shows through as we talk about policing and change.  Chief Devon Clunis began his career with the Winnipeg Police Service in 1987 and has served in major areas of the organization including Uniform Patrol, Traffic, Plainclothes Investigation, Community Relations, Organizational Development & Support, and Duty Office (city-wide operational command), as well as a number of administrative...

Today's point to ponder on The Police Podcast is brought to you by: This is a pretty hallowed week for law enforcement. May 15th is the Peace Officers Memorial Day which makes the Police Week and Why I wear the badge is an initiative created by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to recognize and celebrate our heroes in blue. Organizations that help out with Police Week, the Memorial and families: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund National Law Enforcement...

One of the most talked about events to come out of the Baltimore riots so far has been the mom who saw her son on TV and went down to where he was and smacked him around a little then got him out of the area. After she was identified and had her opportunity to tell her side of the stroy she was quoted as saying, "That's my only son and at the end of the day I don't want him to be a Freddie Gray,". When the video was shared around the world, a common caption or opinion was she should be seen...

Today's episode is brought to you by... The Arlington, Texas Police Department has developed a reputation for brining high quality, relevant content to the 4th largest urban setting in America and a big part of the great work being done in the social space is the dynamic duo of Lieutenant Cook and Officer McDonnell. Zhivonni McDonnell is a subject matter expert in the field of social media for law enforcement and media relations for public safety. As a sworn police officer for the...

Today's Point To Ponder is brought to you by LexisNexis...visit lexisnexis.com/publicsafety   Yesterday the Philadelphia Police Department released a new recruiting video that was like nothing we have ever seen in the way of a recruiting video before. Outside of the box is one way to describe it...memorable is another. Unique? No question. Some purists will be up in arms while those that live in the new digital communication age will see it in an entirely different light. To be honest,...

Today's podcast is brought to you by: Ever wonder what some of the legal concerns you should be considering with the use of live streaming platforms such as  Periscope and Meerkat are? Kerry O'Shea Gorgone sure has, and she shares her knowledge with us about those and a while lot more! A former college professor, Kerry develops training programs forMarketingProfs, and has addressed audiences at industry conferences including the B2B Marketing Forum, the Social Brand Forum, Vocus Demand...

One of the questions I am asked most often is, "How do we get the bosses to buy into social media." In this point to ponder, I tell you the best ways to get the support from the top of the food chain of your organization. This Point To Ponder is brought to you by:

The ultimate goal is naturally to gain many followers, subscribers, fans, friends, likes and everything else in terms of vanity metrics but the real key is to be an influencer. Today on the Point To Ponder I talk about strategies to increase both and give you 5 great tips (and maybe a bonus 6th tip) to be an influncer.  

This episode of The Police Podcast is brought to you by: Today we catch up with Lieutenant Andy Green of the Lima, Ohio Police Department. Andy has extensive experience in the world of law enforcement social media having brought Lima PD into the social media sphere along with teaching other law enforcement agencies the ins and outs of the tools. He can truly be considered one of the early adopters of social media in getting into the use of Facebook in it's early days and then while on a...

Today's podcast is brought to you by: John A. Bertetto is a sworn member of the Chicago Police Department. His current areas of study and work include criminal street gangs, social network analysis, and asymmetric threat mitigation. He is the author of Counter-Gang Strategy: Adapted COIN in Policing Criminal Street Gangs, Countering Criminal Street Gangs: Lessons from the Counterinsurgent Battlespace, Designing Law Enforcement: Adaptive Strategies for the Complex Environment, and Toward a...