PRESS RELEASE:
To inspire and build relationships with their community, the Kansas City Missouri Police Department has joined the social media site Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/kcpolice.
“We are one of the first police departments in the United States to be using this digital medium,” Captain Steve Young said.
Pinterest, a digital inspiration board, has more than 20 million users and is one of the fastest-growing social media sites on the Internet. KCPD hopes to use it to inspire citizens to prevent crime and partner with police.
Some of KCPD’s pin boards include “Safety Tips/How To’s,” “Training/Becoming a Police Officer,” “Cool Police Equipment,” and “KCPD Fuzzy Friends.” These link to KCPD pictures on photo-sharing site Flickr, videos on YouTube and information on the KCPD web site, among other places.
Pinterest will complement KCPD’s other social media, including the Chief’s Blog, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It also aims to reach out to other groups, such as more female users. According to Internet Marketing Inc., 80 percent of Pinterest users are women.
“This reaches a broad group that may not have been engaged in our other social media efforts,” Young said.
KCPD’s Pinterest account features pin boards about women in policing and what to do in difficult situations, like an abusive relationship.
Future pin boards will include historical pictures, pictures of drugs so parents and community members can identify them, additional safety tips, pictures of possible KCPD attire and more.
Send comments to kcpdchiefblog@kcpd.org.
