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The Dunmore Police Department hopes to increase its mission “to protect and serve” through the popularity of Facebook.
Officer Anthony Cali created a Facebook profile for the Dunmore Police Department when he realized the social networking site could help the department interact with the public in ways that traditional media couldn’t.
“I know most people are on Facebook to some degree,” Cali said. “There have been many times that we wanted to convey information to the public without using media outlets and we wanted to use the fact that we could interact with the public in their daily life to our advantage.”
The Dunmore Police Department is the first local municipality to have a Facebook profile and, as Cali points out, it is quickly growing in popularity. The department already has over 700 friends and hopes to add as many Dunmore residents as possible before they reach the 5,000 friend limit.
“It is working out well because people are keeping an eye on each other, sort of like the old days when people would look out for each other a little better,” Cali said. “Today many people are so busy with family and with second jobs that they don’t keep an eye out as much, so Facebook provides an additional tool.”
Cali explained that many posts on the Dunmore Police profile contain public service announcements as well as wall posts from borough residents who want to report suspicious activity or even register a complaint.
“It has been very, very helpful, and it is the way to go,” Cali said. “It helps us protect the people. For example, if someone works the night shift and sleeps all day, they may not know that a few days before there was suspicious activity in their neighborhood. Then they might wake up and see it on their Facebook.”
Dunmore Police Chief Pat Reese feels that the Facebook profile is the best way for the department to let residents know that they are there for their citizens.
“It seems like most of the participants are asking a lot of questions and I hope we are answering these questions for them,” he said. “It is a great way to reach out to the community. If we have to go with the flow of the computer world, then that’s how we will get that message out.
“I think it is a positive thing within the community, the residents seem to like it and when Officer Cali threw this idea out at me I thought it was great,” he continued. “He is doing a fantastic job with it.”
Officer Cali believes that the best aspect of the Facebook profile is that it gives the public and the police department the chance to work as a team.
“It is impossible for us to be in every neighborhood every minute of the day,” he said. “If the people work with us and we team up with one goal in mind, it helps us do our job of enforcing the law and keeping people safe.”
Cali also urged borough residents to use the Dunmore Police Department’s new 24-hour anonymous tip line by calling (570) 851-1305.
“We really want to cater to our people in our town,” he said. “If someone can’t get involved for whatever reason, it gives them the chance to call in and leave an anonymous message, and it gives us the chance to take care of something we might not necessarily have known about.”
Friend request
To become a Facebook friend of the Dunmore Police Department, visit www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001689077799 or e-mail the department at [email protected]