Report: UK cops eyeing Facebook, Twitter for crime reporting

Social networking site Facebook and micro-blogging service Twitter loom as major options for the public in reporting crimes to police in the United Kingdom, a UK news site reported. UK’s Daily Mail reported Essex police chief constable Jim Barker-McCardle cited a changing culture where majority prefer to contact officers over the phone - and increasingly online. "Our research shows that 96 per cent of the public prefer to contact us over the phone. In terms of social media, my teenage daughter would cringe if she heard me trying to talk about tweeting and Facebook. But I know enough to say that the way in which the public chooses to communicate with us is changing," he said. The Daily Mail report also noted Essex Police’s Twitter account had played a key role in defusing speculation during the recent riots. "We have to be constantly alert to ways in which new technology can improve the way we communicate," Barker-McCardle added. When asked if he could see a time when crimes were reported through social networking sites, he said: "I have learnt enough during my career to never rule anything out." "We will always be available on the end of the phone and will always have officers on the streets for those who want them. But if there is demand from society to report crime in new ways then we have a responsibility to be open to that. We would have to look carefully at whether we had the resources to provide that service," he said. Essex Police are holding consultations on proposals to close 21 of its 46 front counters and reducing the hours at all the remaining ones in a bid to save £2.5 million every year, the report said. Under the plan, no station in the county would be open 24 hours. Nine stations that are presently open around the clock would be open from 8 a.m. to midnight while at others front counter services would be severely limited or ended entirely. Besides, Barker-McCardle said a survey had shown the force’s least used station was visited on average just once every two days. The proposals are part of the force’s plans to cut £41 million from its annual budget. Such a budget cut may cut down the number of full-time civilians – presently 170 - employed on front counters. In the longer-term, the force will also consider selling off some of those stations where front counters close while others will be kept as police bases with emergency phones replacing front counters, the report said. "In an ideal world we may not have made such a drastic proposal. But even in an ideal world there would always be an imperative to save money. What we are doing is in line with other police forces in the region. In recent weeks the riots have brought the debate over police finances strongly into the public arena. However, I get no sense that the home secretary is likely to scale back funding cuts," Barker-McCardle said. — RSJ, GMA News