By Troy Graham
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Police Department has launched a more-interactive Web site as part of an effort to engage the public through the Internet and its social-networking tools.
“We can use technology to really engage with people, and that’s something that’s been underutilized so far,” said Karima Zedan, the department’s director of strategic communications. “This is our first step in that direction.”
The department now has a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, and an emergency text and e-mail alert system - and has plans for a Facebook page.
The new Web site, www.phillypolice.com, went live on New Year’s Eve and will be in a testing phase for three months. The old site, www.ppdonline.org, will remain online through March, then will link to the new site.
Zedan, who managed the new Web site project, said the former site was “really static, and it was created a long time ago, using older technology.”
Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, who will write a blog at least once a week on the new site, made the better use of technology a priority when he arrived here two years ago.
The efforts will result in several new features, including:
A page for each police district, which commanders can update with information on community meetings, crime patterns, and other public announcements.
Interactive carousels of the city’s most-wanted violent offenders and Megan’s Law offenders.
A section where the department can post surveillance videos, which often are distributed to media during searches for wanted criminals. Those videos also will be put on the department’s YouTube channel.
A crime-statistics and crime-mapping section that will allow residents to search for offenses in their neighborhoods in the last month. The department hopes to expand that to one year.
Weekly statistics for violent and property crimes.
A mapping tool that will allow residents to determine an address’ police district. One of the most frequent police questions to the city’s 311 information number, Zedan said, is: “What police district do I live in?”
The other top question concerns how citizens can obtain copies of accident or incident reports. The site provides a link to search for those records online.
During the testing phase, the department is seeking feedback, which can be submitted through the Web site.
The e-mail and text-alert system is a partnership with the state Office of Emergency Management. The system can distribute crime news, traffic alerts, safety tips, and other information. Users can subscribe to receive alerts from a single police district, multiple districts or citywide.
The department also can disseminate much of the same information through its Twitter feed, a tool used by other departments. The New York Police Department’s Twitter account had nearly 3,000 followers yesterday.
The brand new “Phillypolice” account had just three followers yesterday afternoon. Checking the number, Zedan smiled and said, “We’re on our way.”
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