Imminent tornadoes, chemical explosions — there has already been a handful of incidents this semester that required University Police to spring into action and alert the community. They’ve encountered a few problems with the established email and text message system, such as lagging response times or disorganized messages, but they’ve been successful more often than not.
Since the alert system’s 2007 inception in response to the shootings at Virginia Tech that April, the department has been ramping up its efforts to improve the system’s scope and reliability. Officials have continually worked to keep pace with evolving technologies and the heightened demand for updates from students and their concerned parents. After news broke Thursday of another shooting at Virginia Tech, the story of the system’s progression came full circle.
Police launched into high gear, talking to students about their social media use and reconfiguring the alert system to better accommodate their habits. The resulting expansion to incorporate Twitter and Facebook represents a major leap forward and is probably the most critical advancement police will make over the next several years.
Realistically, it was only a matter of time before social media was integrated into the protocol, but this editorial board applauds police for their foresight in recognizing how much of a difference these additions will make toward ensuring student safety. Although it was this tragedy at Virginia Tech that prompted police to reach out to students and learn about their primary methods for getting information, nobody forced them to do so. Police Chief David Mitchell said Thursday’s shooting — in which the alleged gunman, a part-time student at Radford University, fatally shot a police officer before killing himself — was the “tipping point” for his force. They all realized, he said, that this revitalization was necessary to achieve the most effective emergency procedures. We couldn’t agree more.
These new features are absolutely crucial to optimal performance, now that smartphones and other new technologies have made social media incredibly pervasive in students’ daily lives. University Police can now use their new Facebook page and two Twitter handles — @UMPD and @umpdALERTS — to connect with the community in ways not previously possible. They can reach students who may be glued to their social media accounts yet oblivious to their email inboxes.
The new system will no doubt require some tweaking as officers become accustomed to disseminating information in new ways. Like any new technology, Twitter and Facebook accounts are only as efficient, and in this case helpful, as their users make them. We caution against some of social media’s pitfalls that could undermine the reliability of these new communication channels between students and police. Namely, officers must establish and maintain some sort of regularity when updating the accounts during emergencies. Twitter is like a can of Pringles — once you pop, the fun don’t stop. Once a user starts updating regularly, followers learn to expect the same level of activity. If police intend to make Twitter a reliable source for important information, they’ll have to always remember to post an update when students would expect one.
Those following @umpdALERTS should be able to predict how quickly to expect an update after an emergency. The Twitter handle won’t fulfill its potential, and could even be harmful, if students are left wondering whether the coast is clear or whether officials just haven’t Tweeted yet. Additionally, once they’ve alerted users to the danger, police need to continue updating, even if just to establish the situation hasn’t yet been resolved. Getting a head start with these new methods before an emergency occurs, as police are now doing, will minimize these issues.
The expansion of University Police’s most visible program highlights the need for officials in all kinds of departments — both on school campuses and in cities, neighborhoods and other populated areas — to adapt. Twitter and Facebook have irreversibly changed people’s relationship with news, evidenced in part by how enthusiastically major media outlets have embraced these sites. Police departments must communicate news as well — albeit of a different kind — and therefore must be attuned to the habits of those in their community. This editorial board commends police officials for being proactive, and their initiative should serve as an example to leaders of other departments at this university who haven’t yet tested the waters of the social media pond.
