Local police tackle crime online

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind (WLFI) - Monday night 20-year-old Albert Goins was arrested in the Amberleigh Village neighborhood in West Lafayette. He was arrested for a Jan. 30 burglary in the neighborhood.

Before the news went to anyone else, police posted it on Facebook.

"We are putting things on there like press releases and information about burglaries," West Lafayette Sergeant Detective Cindy Marion said. "We're kind of learning as we go."

Marion said within the hour of posting the information about Goins' arrest, the West Lafayette Police Department Facebook page received five more "likes."

It's a prime example of how social media is expanding in local departments.

Lafayette Police Chief Patrick Flannelly said LPD is not only on Facebook, but also Twitter, Nixel and Nextdoor.

"There is really no escaping it," Flannelly said. "As a police department what we are trying to do is leverage that ability to communicate with people."

That communication is getting faster and more specific. Nixel is an alert sent straight from dispatch as a text or an email. Nextdoor sends alerts to certain neighborhoods instead of the whole community.

Police worry about over saturating their followers. They said they tread lightly on what they post online. The last thing they want is for the public to overlook an important post.

"It's a difficult thing to try to balance what people want to know, what they should know, and what they're not interested in knowing," Flannelly said.

Both Marion and Flannelly said they have received helpful crime fighting tips through social media.

To sign up for LPD's social media sites visit their homepage, then click on the links tab.