“The citizens of the community is who we serve so we want their interaction,” said Lino Lakes Public Safety Department Captain Wayne Wegener Jr. Also this week, more than 10,000 people saw the department’s messages on Facebook. “We use socially media to engage the public and to get their input and to find out what their concerns are,” said Captain Wegener. Two very different methods of engaging their residents, but both are seeing results. RELATED LINKS: “Time and time again we hear traffic is always a concern. Whether it’s speeding or passing on the shoulder, traffic in neighborhoods, traffic in thoroughfares, we hear traffic is the concern so we put it out there, hey what are your concerns,” said Captain Wegener. “Where is your concern, what is happening, what have you seen, so we can direct our patrols to those areas,” said Captain Wegener. From there, suggestions started coming in. And they acted on them. Patrols went out, and they even posted where they were going to be. Beyond traffic, they have also used social media to solve some larger problems. “Bank robbery, we’ve used it to solve an armed robbery at a liquor store,” said Captain Wegener. It shows it’s working, as people in the community and people across the country have become fond of the frequently humorous post shared by the department. “Social media reaches far beyond the borders of Lino Lakes. The one arrest from the liquor store robbery actually came from a repost in Wisconsin. It reached beyond the borders of Minnesota for that arrest,” said Captain Wegener. Not only are they seeing results, they are also seeing a larger amount of people who are willing to communicate with the police about problems they see. “The quantity of tips are far greater through Facebook and Twitter if we tweet about it because that is where the connection is with the public,” said Captain Wegener. While social media is not changing everything about the way the communicate. “We still put out newsletters, meetings like we have tonight but social media is the way of the current day and going forward. It’s out there. We have a Twitter account, we have Facebook, and that’s where everybody’s accessing what’s going on,” said Captain Wegener. “It gives us the ability to address the needs, concerns, and issues in our community and it also gives us the ability to utilize the resources of people to help us solve crimes,” said Captain Wegener.
Lino Lakes Police Use Social Media to Engage Community
LINO LAKES, Minn. – (May 12, 2016) – A simple night at Lino Lakes City Hall this week had a small group of interested residents come out and learn what their public safety department has been doing so far this year, and have their public safety questions answered.
