By Gary Lloyd
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is among the best in social media for a department of its size, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
The association recently released rankings that sort law enforcement agencies nationwide by their size and rank them by their presence on social media.
In the Facebook category, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was ranked sixth in the category for agencies with 500 to 999 sworn officers, with 15,220 Facebook “Likes.” As of Wednesday, the Facebook page showed 15,226 “Likes.” The Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office was ranked first with 37,586 “Likes.”
“Our use of Facebook has been a benefit in as much as it helps to promote and maintain a positive image of the sheriff’s office with the citizens we serve,” said Jefferson County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jack Self. “We use it to elicit information about crimes and locations of wanted fugitives. We answer questions that citizens don’t want to have to call a deputy to their home to answer. It has been an invaluable tool for communicating and interacting with the people we serve.”
Read an instance where Facebook helped Jefferson County deputies here.
Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the sheriff’s office is “very proud” of the ranking.
“I hope it is a reflection of how the people we serve feel about our crime fighters that are working to protect them day in and day out,” he said. “Social media has been a great tool in allowing us to communicate with people in our neighborhoods and communities. The great thing is it is a two-way street that also allows us to hear thoughts and ideas from the homeowner or business owner, moms, dads and our young people.
“Even when someone points out a problem, mistake or poor experience with this office, we embrace that and enjoy getting it corrected. I think people appreciate that. I hope they do. We monitor it very closely and try to share as much information as possible about what is happening day in and day out.”
The sheriff’s office is on Twitter, too, at @JeffCoSheriff.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.