BOSTON, MA — (Marketwired) — 10/30/13 — On Nov. 1, starting at 8 a.m. local time and spanning for 24 hours, law enforcement agencies around the world will connect on Twitter for the second Global Police tweet-a-thon. Organized by LAwS Communications, the purpose of the tweet-a-thon is to call attention to policing as well as to police use of social media. All participants will tweet about their work using the same hashtag, #poltwt.
The first Global Police tweet-a-thon took place on March 22, 2013 and was a huge success. More than 200 law enforcement agencies all across the world participated, resulting in over 48,000 tweets in 23 different languages.
“The first police tweet-a-thon in March reached over 11 million people and trended across the western hemisphere,” said Lauri Stevens, founder of LAwS Communications and organizer of the Global Police Tweet-a-thon. “We expect this one to be just as impactful with more participants and expanded global reach.
“The primary goal is to call attention to police work and police use of social media, but each agency sets its own local goal. People have responded very positively to seeing police tweet. Another great thing that results is that police officers from around the world connect to each other. During the first #poltwt I recall comments about how they realized they-re all dealing with the same issues and facing the same challenges.”
There are currently more than 130 agencies and 50 individual officers signed up to participate from the U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, Belgium, Iceland and New Zealand. Any agency or individual can join the Tweet-a-thon and tweet any portion of the 24-hour period. For a map of participants, please visit .
“Police forces from across the United Kingdom are recognized around the world for their innovative use of social media to engage with the residents they serve,” said Chief Inspector Kerry Blakeman of West Midlands Police. “West Midlands Police are delighted to be part of #poltwt. We want to show the world how many different officers in the force tweet on a regular basis, from our Community Support Officers on patrol right through to the command team at Assistant Chief Constable level.
“To mark #poltwt we are launching our latest twitter account @trafficwmp, which will feature the work of our traffic cops. With only one tweet to their name they already have in excess of 1000 followers, which just goes to show the interest in what the traffic officers do. As part of #poltwt day we will also be broadcasting live video from the traffic officers as they patrol the streets of the West Midlands.”
To participate, email Lauri Stevens at with your Twitter name, agency name and physical address.
LAwS Communications has been providing interactive media advice to law enforcement since 2005. Open Source communication technologies available today allow organizations to efficiently gather and distribute information like never before. LAwS Communications works with law enforcement professionals to help make sense of the tools available, help agencies craft a plan and social media policy as well as provide the training needed. LAwS Communications can help law enforcement organizations not only understand why an agency should take advantage of social media technologies, but also how to leverage these vast resources. LAwS Communications is located in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is a subsidiary of Stevens & Associates Inc.
For more information, please visit .
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