Before the night was over, the Facebook followers would nearly double to 14,682, compared to the previous 21 months since the department joined Facebook. In less than 24 hours that followed the prison escape, Lima Police recorded a reach of 1 million. Reach is a term used by Facebook to show how many people viewed a post. It’s quickly multiplied by people who share posts, Green said.
The photo of the two escapees reached 968,448 people, by itself, and was shared 16,545 times by users, Green said.
Every post Green created was generated from Ohio State Highway Patrol releases through Nixle, a text and email alert system.
“They weren’t feeding me information. I was taking everything they put out and I would put it out,” he said.
The Lima Police Department has the biggest social media following in the area among law enforcement agencies and Green knew it was one of the quickest ways to get information to the public.
“The goal was to get out the information to the public so they would be safe,” he said.
Green also received nearly 100 messages from concerned residents, he said.
Green received some tips, but very few.
“Most were questions asking if they were safe. Not a lot of tips,” he said.
Police also were warning people not to open the door to strangers and not to send messages on Twitter about locations in neighborhoods police were searching. Although it was unlikely the two inmates on the run, one up to eight hours, had access to social media, Green said he didn’t want to take the chance so he made the request.
Green called the effort a success and said it’s thanks to the past 21 months that brought about 8,000 Facebook followers to Lima Police Department before the escape. He said many people read posts for various reasons, including seeing pictures of people who rob stores in hopes someone can identify them.
While Green is very happy with the response on social media, he said he will evaluate his posts and see if he can do anything better.
Green said he also is hoping the event from Thursday provides the department even more of a springboard for its social media use.
©2014 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio)
