The mighty QR code?

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Tim Burrows

(This post originally appeared June, 19th, 2014 on The Social Media Beat, International Association of Chiefs of Police)

The mighty QR code?

“Burrows has lost his marbles!” Well, that very well might be true but I’m serious…the mighty QR code.  Please tell me anything else in the world of marketing and information sharing that is more mysterious?

A little square of black and white that can hold a virtual multimedia smorgasbord of creativity and content.  Scan the matrix with your mobile device and who knows what wonders you are in store for…and therein lies the problem.

When QR codes went from the parts warehouse to the advertising agency someone got them really screwed up. QR codes on billboards, in subway tunnels beyond the 3rd rail, using them in digital platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.  Seriously, how did the mighty QR code stand a fighting chance when the simplicity of it got destroyed with stupidity? That is second reason that QR codes got a bad rap. People pointed the QR code at a website or location that shared no more information than the QR code itself did.

I still believe that QR codes have a great place in the future of communications and all it’s going to take is a concerted effort to use them properly.  Consider what the real use of a QR code is.  It replaces typing a URL on a little tiny keyboard by scanning a picture (barcode matrix) that directs your device to “Go There.”

Here is a simple but very effective way to use QR codes in your messaging. The picture below is for a hurricane awareness brochure.  Three different QR codes have been used to replace URLs and text on the brochure.hurricane infor

The person knows exactly what they will be scanning when they pull out a smart device; videos, text, or maps. Three different kinds of content all accessible with a quick scan…it’s easier than reading all that information or trying to type in link addresses!

Add that kind of brochure to your department entranceway, on an information table, as a handout, or on an information tree. You could even build your own catalogue of resources for preparedness on one page that was all just a scan away.

In Florida, the Atlantic hurricane season has just begun. In the central U.S., tornadoes have been ripping up the mid-west and in California the drought has continued.  That’s three campaigns right there that police and law enforcement agencies could already be talking about on a fairly regular basis all relating to emergency preparedness.

The problem has never been the QR code, it’s always been how it’s used.  I believe the QR Code does have a vital role in messaging, especially with a community that desires less words and more pictures.  Make good use of the technology.  Just don’t tweet them or put them on the back of your police cars!

Five Places to Put QR Codes

  • Business cards
  • Flyers Brochures
  • Hard copies of news releases
  • Posters

Five Worst Place to Put QR Codes

  • Driver’s side of cars
  • In a tweet
  • Digital press release
  • On a billboard
  • Banner pulled by a plane

What about you? Where are the worst places you have ever seen a QR Code used or what has driven you crazy about where they point?  Let me know in the comments below!

Here is also what my fellow IACP Blogger wrote about a great use of QR codes before and here is a secret bonus code…qr code

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The public’s right to know vs the police and public’s right to safety

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Tim Burrows

In less than three hours you could drive from Moncton, New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Moncton, scene of a horrific event that started Wednesday night that played out in real life and simultaneously on social media for the world to see. In the aftermath, 3 RCMP Officers dead, two injured and a nation in mourning.

Different City, Same Story

Different City, Same Story

One execution occurred almost live with a family posting the event “as it happened” with their view from their living room providing a stage they probably didn’t expect to be on.

Officials from law enforcement asked people not to post police officer locations on social media when it became obvious the shooter’s intended victims were police officers.   A simple request with more than valid reasons.

This hasn’t the first time this type of request has been issued and it won’t be the last for various reasons. Effective police work, officer safety, community safety and intelligence are just a few of the reasons this type of request might be made.

Fast forward just three short days and less than 300 miles to Halifax where reports went out once again in real life and on social media, “A gunman had been sighted.”

In the end, no gunman was located although people were investigated. But, there is a huge difference between advising the public of an area they should avoid and what occurred here.

We can see that the priority is on the visual of the event which can add a lot of real value for the community to know to stay away.

Think about the wall to wall news coverage that occurs now on major events. The possibility of the news, citizen journalists and the community providing incredible amounts of information to the subjects involved in an event is amazing.

Locations, deployment, resources, plans, logistics are all available for everyone to see and put together.  This became such a problem in Moncton, officers chose to use cell phones to advise what they were doing as opposed to announcing it over their radios.

Following an event in the moment, live as it happens with all the excitement of, “What will happen next” is great to watch unfold when it’s something that has a real entertainment value but not as exciting when we realize that there is a real potential of life and death.

There has to be a place where we can all come together to find that happy medium where the information can be given out and updates provided without putting lives at risk.

A simple question…when will public safety and officer safety actually matter over public voyeurism?

 

 

Posted in Communication, Monitoring, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cyber Crimebusters…Infographic Internet Forensics

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Tim Burrows

Great infographic from Criminal Justice Degree Hub.

Forensics-then-and-now

Click the link below for the cite information.

http://www.criminaljusticedegreehub.com/forensics-internet/

Posted in Resources | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Let’s Talk (Again) About Community Policing via Improving Police

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Tim Burrows

Re-blog Alert:

This is a very short blog post from a very wise man who just gets it!  I love this! The video is awesome but what I really found best were the last few words, “…loosen up! Enjoy your journey.”

I was just going to hit re-blog and add my 2 cents, but this has so much value that I want you to see it all without having to make another move. But I will ask if you do like it as much as I do, then click on the link at the end and leave your thoughts with Chief Couper.

Let’s Talk (Again) About Community Policing

JUNE 3, 2014 BY IMPROVINGPOLICE 2 COMMENTS

In this instance, one video says it all…

From my book, “Arrested Development“:

“Our nation’s police have been unable or slow to return to the community-oriented role they were in the process of working through (prior to 9/11)—such as soft methods of crowd control, neighborhood policing, and focusing on solving community problems. Too many of our nation’s police are busy looking instead for terrorists in the community rather than support from it.

“This new militarism has gripped police and turned them away from the pursuit of community policing to focus on technology to solve their problems and antiterrorism as their new focus. It isn’t that the threat of urban terrorism should be ignored, but rather, who should have the primary responsibility? I see the police as community workers—not urban commandos.”

This video shows that police in Boise, Idaho get it!

Officers, loosen up! Enjoy your journey.

Leave your thoughts here: Improving Police

Posted in Inspiration, Reputation Management | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are police respecting the unwritten laws of social media

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Tim Burrows

I came across this question today in my Twitter stream and you can imagine how quick I was to click the link and listen to the audio (attached link below).

The ‘unwritten laws’ of social media.

We can all think of several examples of the unwritten laws that the community of social exists on.

  • Give credit where credit is due
  • Don’t do anything illegal (also a written law but anonymity helps avoid that)
  • Share
  • Be transparent
  • Don’t spam
  • Don’t over exaggerate the reality (like the title of this segment seems to have done)
  • Etc, etc…

Are police respecting the unwritten laws? Do they ‘get’ social media?? I say yes, they are and for the most part, they really do ‘get’ it.  In the clip I don’t hear any of the unwritten laws referred to, so there isn’t any examples of the unwritten laws used, but still, this is a fantastic 15 minute audio clip.  I encourage you to listen to the clip in its entirety, but in the meantime, here are some of the highlights.

3:49 of the audio clip discusses the following tweet. The host of the show, Jian Ghomeshi, talked about this tweet he received from the Regina Police as, “…sweet and also kind of harrowing…”.

@jianghomeshi Tweet with @ReginaPolice

I’m sure that Jian has never considered a welcoming tweet from anyone else as “sweet and harrowing”.  Jian also goes onto say that it was also comforting to know that the police were in the space. I find it odd that the interaction would bring out any type of comment at all since the REgina Police were actually being awesome at monitoring either the Regina International Aviation Transport Code – YQR, the word Regina or simply, like me… they are Jian Ghomeshi fans. 

I’ve seen several examples of people making jokes about being ‘followed’ by the police. It is a cute play on real life vs social life. And rightfully so, many officers have joked right back with the public about it. Adhering to one of the unwritten social laws, BE SOCIAL! Yes, they get it for sure!

Therein lies some of the curiosity about the police breaking the ‘unwritten laws’. The police use of social media is still very much in its infancy and many officers and agencies are still feeling out their position in the space and how their community will accept it.  And some communities have different views of what they want from the social police and what works in one community might not work in another.

What really concerns me about the police use of social media are those agencies and officers that are using the platforms without clear direction or goals for their social programs. They end up just adding a lot of noise to the crowded and loud social sphere.

Also discussed in the audio clip are the Prince George’s County Police experiment with the Tweet-a-John Sting, which has been well documented including my own take on it. Could that program have been better strategized? Absolutely! Can it still be done? YES, and I hope it is done with some tweaks to the program and a solid strategy to it. I believe this type of operation can be an amazing tool for crime prevention, public awareness and quality of life issues.

Dr. Patrick Parnaby is the interviewed expert in the segment. “The game changes when it’s law enforcement.” said Professor Parnaby, and man, he is so right on that statement in relation to privacy issues. The professor scratched the surface of an issue that if law enforcement isn’t careful, has the potential to become an arterial bleed. (PRISM and the NSA in the United States comes to mind.)

Even ethical issues are touched on in the clip. PC Scott Mills, the Toronto Police Service Social Media Officer, immediately cited privacy as the ethical beginning,

“The rules are already written.”  

We know that there is way more to the ethical issues than merely privacy, but privacy is certainly a massive ethical issue in the police use of social media.

But that harkens back to the title, the “unwritten laws”.

Are police respecting the unwritten laws of social media? (Audio File)

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Leaders Eat Last

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Tim Burrows

As I watched this naturally my thoughts went to my own organization and I found myself identifying people who are authoritarian leaders. Leaders who demand respect because of their position. I thought of leaders who have an authoritarian position but that is not why they would be followed…it is because they would do any job they would ask of someone else and be the first “into the breech” if the opportunity was there.
Most importantly though, I thought of men and women who I have worked with, supervised or watched that don’t have a title or a position of authority that I would follow because they are true leaders in every sense of the word.
Be that type of leader.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Five Things

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Tim Burrows

5 Great tips here for police and police leadership.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Police hopping on to social media

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Tim Burrows

The last three paragraphs of this post are so important for police agencies to understand and get their heads around.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Case Study: Measuring success with Prince George’s County PD

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Tim Burrows

A couple of weeks ago the Prince George’s County Police Department announced on their blog that they would be live Tweeting a Vice Sting Operation targeting John’s who choose to solicit the services of prostitutes.

The department made it clear that the targets of the operation would be the Johns, not the sex workers themselves.  At the time I applauded the PCPD for this initiative and eagerly looked forward to how they would roll out the live stream of this quality of life and community safety issue.  I blogged about it and engaged into the social stream about it and had some great conversations with opponents of the initiative.

There were many detractors of the program that went on the all out offensive against the PGPD and the project. To sum up the opposition it’s pretty simple:

  1. Upset that the police are trying to interrupt their ability to make a living.
  2. Upset that the project was going to target the sex workers.
  3. Upset that the sting would jeopardize future legitimate employment opportunities.
  4. Very small, very vocal, very concerned group of people. (Few from PGC).

I do applaud the sex workers and their supporters for standing strong in their conviction against the project regardless of the fact they were arguing to legitimize an illegal act.

I found it concerning that they got all worked up over a project that clearly was going to target Johns and not sex workers.

It was humorous that they were ready to blame the PGPD for using social media to out their illegal enterprise which could impact future employment.

Let’s take a step back and look at what the PGPD said they were doing with the sting operation:

“The PGPD’s Vice Unit will conduct a prostitution sting that targets those soliciting prostitutes and we’ll tweet it out as it happens.”

The release went onto say:

“We’re using this progressive, and what we believe unprecedented, social media tactic to warn any potential participants that this type of criminal behavior is not welcome in Prince George’s County.”

Fast forward…the sting happened and not one person was arrested. Kind of unheard of when you consider that the Vice Squad used intelligence led policing to determine the best time and location to conduct the operation. It should have had guaranteed results but it didn’t have any!

Screen shot 2014-05-14 at 10.10.14 AM

And how did the opposition react to the announcement that the sting didn’t produce any results and no one was arrested?? They complained. Screen shot 2014-05-14 at 10.21.53 AM

Julie Parker, the PIO for PGPD said this in response to the results:

“The unprecedented advance notice and the intense publicity surrounding it funnelled down to the would-be johns.  The few who did initially call to respond to the undercover officers’ ads showed an unusual  level of caution; asking more probing questions than is typically seen.  In the end, no johns ever showed up.”

One of the core functions of policing and truly the most important function of the police is CRIME PREVENTION.

The greatest measure of the effectiveness of policing is not the statistics that show how much crime has happened and the departments clearance rate of those crimes, but the greatest measure of the effectiveness of policing is the ABSENCE OF CRIME.

In the end, the project was not a failure because of the lack of arrests, the project was a success because crime was absent and it is no doubt the intended use of social media, the extra attention because of the backlash and the courage to try something new that made this project a success.

A final note…I had a couple of great conversations with some of the opponents to the project who disagreed with me and I with them, but we talked openly on the stream. They have some good ideas.  I also got my fair share of abuse from people for supporting the program. What was the difference between the two? Openness to see and respect the others thoughts and opinions. You don’t have to agree with them or they with you but you respect each other and conversations can happen. Conversations that can lead to change.

If you look back at the #PGPDVice stream now, you can still see a lot of information and misinformation. If you look real careful, you can also see some great ideas and potential problem solving solutions to crime and disorder management. Screen shot 2014-05-14 at 10.20.30 AMLook for those, work with them and there could be some great futures to this type of activity, live streaming a sting…not prostitution 😉

 

 

Posted in Communication, Measurement, Reputation Management, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does parent pride endanger child safety?

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Tim Burrows

Have you given much thought to those little window stickers?
Here are somethings to think about before you add them .

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment