Roughly a year ago, the Weyburn Police Service began to establish a presence on social media. It started with a Twitter account and then moved to a Facebook account. With more than 650 followers on Twitter and over 1000 likes on Facebook, it has been a strong launch for the department.

Chief Marlo Pritchard understands how social media can be effective. Using various formats himself, he knows the power it can have. The department has also seen it first hand, especially on their Facebook page.

“I know just recently, we had posted a picture of wanted people from a mischief, and we ended up having 75,000 views on that, and we were successful in identifying the people we were looking for,” Pritchard explained. The results are just on example of how law enforcement, in general, has been using social media successfully as of late.

In Saskatoon, their Crime Stoppers Facebook page has used humorous posts to help draw attention to people who are wanted for a variety of outstanding warrants or to seek information about a specific crime. Occasionally tongue in cheek, the posts are generally shared hundreds of times. As an added bonus, since they started, they have seen success.

The use of humor isn’t limited to just Saskatchewan. In Minnesota, a police department used their Twitter account to provide a humorous opening to talk about substance abuse issues, something people don’t always want to necessarily discuss. In Halifax, their police department engages with followers, with humor used as a tool to help provide information. In Toronto, they have been known to interject themselves into conversations about potential drug deals, defusing it with a little humor.

The use of humor is something that isn’t lost on Pritchard here in Weyburn. “Anytime that you can change up the usual, very strict police jargon messaging, with a little bit of humor, people are going to be more apt to read it for the chuckle of the day type deal,” he said, adding it helps to get the message across.

Twitter has also been effectively used by the Weyburn Police Service. On a number of occasions, officers on traffic duty, whether in the city or as part of the Combined Traffic Services Section, have posted photos of a radar, showing a high speed. They have also used it to remind drivers about the dangers of impaired driving, as well as texting and driving. The WPS Twitter account has received compliments from outside organizations, according to Pritchard.

“We’ve had a lot of comments from MADD,” Pritchard said. ”They really are impressed with how we are using Twitter as a way of getting our messages out in regards to not drinking and driving.”

As for the future of social media, Pritchard wouldn’t be surprised to see the WPS adopting other platforms such as Instagram in the future, as they look to tailor their online presence to maximize the reach. He also sees social media as a key way for law enforcement to share information, and educate the public, in an engaging way, whether it is humorous or straight to the point.