A WORCESTER police officer has been shortlisted for a social media award for providing the community with advice through his Twitter account.
PC Dave Wise, who works as a safer neighbourhood officer in the city, has been nominated for his @copthatcooks Twitter account in the National Police Twitter Awards.
The account, which currently has more than 3,700 followers, is used on a daily basis to provide the community with crime prevention advice and local policing information, as well for Dave to promote his cookery skills.
He said: “It’s very humbling to have been shortlisted for the final, particularly as it’s based on votes from members of the public so it means a lot.
“Twitter is, of course, not the be all and end all to police communication but it is now a significant tool which allows direct communication between officers and the public that isn’t really possible any other way.
“Certainly for me, I feel that Twitter allows people to see beyond just a uniform and breaks down some of those barriers. I’d like to think someone who follows me on social media and has had a conversation with me once or twice would be much more likely to approach me to report a crime or provide information that they may have otherwise kept to themselves.”
Another Twitter account, run by officers from Shrewsbury’s Safer Neighbourhood Team, has also been shortlisted for an award.
On hearing of both of the nominations, West Mercia Police Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said: “This is a great achievement for Shrewsbury Safer Neighbourhood Team and PC Dave Wise. It gives recognition to the hard work that they put into the accounts to engage with our communities.”
The ceremony will be held on December 23 at Northamptonshire Police Headquarters and the overall winner will be invited to attend the SMILE (Social Media In Law Enforcement) conference in California in 2017 to share their experience of policing and social media.
