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"if you were mistreated in any way, I can only apologize. You as a citizen have the right to file a formal complaint.," says a Detroit Police Department tweet thee days ago, responding to a resident's tweet to @detroitpolice about being stopped while "just walking home."
That's part of a new era under Detroit Police Chief James Craig, according to veteran law enforcement reporter George Hunter at The Detroit News.
"When Chief Craig took office (in July), one of his biggest pushes was for the department to become more transparent,” Sgt. Michael Woody said.
“He wants us to talk about everything."
That's changed the force's Facebook and Twitter presence, which have "recently expanded to include conversing with residents and answering criticism," according to Hunter.
“Our Facebook and Twitter accounts have been around for years now, but they’ve not been utilized to their full potential,” Woody said. “Social media is an opportunity to have direct conversations with the people we serve. By having an open dialogue with people, we can give them a better understanding of what’s in our purview — and what we can’t do as well.”
Social media outreach includes posting major crime summaries regularly and appealing for tips, as the department did last week in a post linking to Fox 2 coverage of a gunpoint sexual assault on the northeast side. "Stand up and speak up Detroit. We can't do it without you," says a Facebook post..
The department has nearly 5,600 followers on Twitter and more than 8,700 on Facebook.
