
Linda M. Tobias
Monday 16th Sept
The Benefits of Giving Frontline Police Officers a Voice on Social Media
Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP), with an authorized strength of only 186 police officers and 20 Community Safety Officers, has 48 social media accounts across 8 platforms. Most of these accounts are handled, not by the PIO or Executive team, but by officers at the sergeant rank or below. As a result of the small department’s large digital footprint, niche demographics are being reached, goodwill in the community is growing, and media attention has increased. Using MVTP as a case study, Linda Tobias will explore how empowering units and individual officers to have a branded presence on social media will humanize your department, build relationships with the marginalized groups/individuals, and increase employee morale. Linda will share how: employees are selected to manage a social media account, risk is mitigated, oversight is administered, internal support is solicited; and how to make the whole process manageable, even with limited resources.
Wednesday 18th Sept
Leveraging Reddit for Community Engagement and Media Attention
Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP) is one of very few police agencies with a verified and trusted Reddit account. As a result, MVTP has a voice on a platform with 70 million active daily users. Seen as an authority and a trusted source of information related to transit safety on a platform where anonymity is valued, MVTP is able to engage with users who would otherwise avoid any interaction with police. Linda <span class="searchHighlight">Tobias</span> will provide an overview of Reddit and its unique culture, the content that resonates and is welcome by users, and how Reddit has allowed MVTP to get ahead of media stories and take control of the narrative before media even become aware of the story.