Police went back to tweeting breaking crime alerts Tuesday after a decision to suspend the practice in favor of a new policy sparked a fierce community backlash.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) recently stopped tweeting out breaking crime alerts, shifting resources to an alert system District resident must sign up for. Residents blasted the new system, noting twitter is universally used and is the quickest way to inform the general population about crime in the city, reports NBC Washington.
The MPD sent a tweet out Tuesday saying their crime alert tweets would resume, after hearing numerous complaints.
Chief of Police Cathy Lanier said the policy change aimed to streamline crime alerts and important notifications from the MPD into one location. Lanier wanted to avoid duplicate notifications and repeat information across different social media platforms, reports The Washington Post.
The police intended to begin using different social media platforms for specific types of information. Residents, however, were confused with the shift and voiced concern it would make it more difficult to deliver breaking crime alerts to concerned citizens. (RELATED: Officials ‘Horrified’ After Bloody Monday In DC Leaves Five Shot, Two Dead)
“I need to know when something happens, where it happened and how, and whether a suspect is on the loose,” Gary Butler, an advisory neighborhood commission member told The Washington Post. “Some of the stuff we’re now getting from police is not relevant. And stuff they put up as news I already know about from the neighbors. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
The MPD twitter account stood silent on a rash of violence on May 17. In just four hours police responded to five shooting incidents across the District, which left two dead and District officials in shock.
In response to the backlash, the MPD resumed tweeting out live crime alerts Tuesday.
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