by Lauri Stevens
The international group of judges of the third annual ConnectedCOPS Awards has determined the finalists for the 2014 awards.
Category: ConnectedCOPS Awards
2013 ConnectedCOPS Awards Winners Announced
LAwS Communications Announces the Winners of the International ConnectedCOPS Awards
Recipients announced in eight categories at The SMILE Conference in Omaha, Neb.
Omaha, NE – October 01, 2013 – The winners of the second annual ConnectedCOPS™ Awards were announced last week at the SMILE Conference® in Omaha, Nebraska. The awards program began last year and immediately became highly sought after by law officers using social media in police operations.
“It is still very rare for law enforcement to understand the true depths of engagement they can achieve with social media,” said Lauri Stevens, founder of LAwS Communications and the ConnectedCOPS Awards. “The winners of the ConnectedCOPS awards are the people and agencies who are at the forefront of this realization. So in turn they set the bar and they set it very high for their peers. Through these awards, I hope we’re able to signal to others that social media isn’t about checking a box, but rather should be approached with proactive strategy and strong governance. If we succeed, law enforcement can become more transparent but also more efficient and potentially put more bad guys behind bars.”
From L to R is Sergeant Thorir Ingvarsson, Reykjavik Metropolitan Police (Excellence at a Large Agency); Superintendent Gary Askin, Waterloo Regional Police; Lindsay Charlesworth, Waterloo Regional Police (Social Media Campaign); Sean Stephenson, Calgary Police (Social Media Event Management); Detective Sam Palmer, Phoenix Police (Social Media Investigator); Bridget Fitzpatrick, Omaha Police (Civilian Award of Excellence); Lieutenant Christopher Cook, Arlington, TX (Social Media Leadership)
Not pictured: Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, Toronto Police (Social Media Top Cop); Bernard Keyworth, North West Motorway Group (Excellence at a Small Agency)
The 2013 ConnectedCOPS Awards winners in eight categories are:
Social Media Award of Excellence at a Large Agency – Reykjavik Police, Iceland
“We are honored to receive this important and prestigious award, not to mention when we see who else were nominated and how many police departments around the world are doing great things in the field,” said Stefan Eriksson, Chief of Police of the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police. “The use of social media has been an important aspect of information sharing for the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police but importantly also in maintaining a relationship with the citizens in the last few years. The key to our success in the field has been in how people have embraced this new type of communication and have been willing to participate. Therefore it has been crucial to realize that social media is not a one way street but a town square, where the police and the people they serve can converse and work together.”
Social Media Award of Excellence at a Small Agency – North West Motorway Police Group, United Kingdom
“It was a unexpected surprise to receive international recognition for the NWMPG’s use of social media, particularly as we have only been using it, to improve policing on the Region’s motorways, for just over a year,” said Bernard Keyworth, a supervisor from the NWMPG.
Social Media Leadership Award – Lieutenant Christopher Cook, Arlington, TX Police, United States
“I want to thank our outstanding citizens for connecting with the Arlington Police Department through social media,” said Christopher Cook, Arlington Police. “Furthermore, I want to give credit to Police Chief Will Johnson for his commitment to social media strategies and my team of employees who work tirelessly to bring innovative and exciting content to all of our platforms. It’s truly a humbling experience and honor to be recognized as a pioneer in law enforcement social media.”
Social Media Civilian Award of Excellence – Bridget Fitzpatrick, Omaha, NE Police, United States
“It is an honor to be recognized by the SMILE Conference judges,” said Bridget Fitzpatrick, Omaha Police. “This award is a reflection not only of my work but also of the work of the staff of PIO’s for the Omaha Police Department, and more importantly the progressive mindset of Chief Todd Schmaderer. Without his support and encouragement, OPD would not be excelling as well in the social media world.”
Social Media Top Cop Award – Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, Toronto Police, ON, Canada
“The SMILE Conference social media Top Cop award is an honor but more a reflection of the inspiration that TPS trail blazers like Scott Mills, Tim Burrows and Ritesh Kotak have had on me,” said Peter Sloly, Toronto Police. “I wanted to use my rank and role in the TPS to enlighten and empower other officers to use social media to improve public safety, public service and public trust. The Top Cop award validates those efforts. I am indebted to Lauri Stevens and The SMILE Conference for giving me both the technical competence and strategic confidence to build the TPS social media strategy. Lauri gets a big assist for this Top Cop award.”
Social Media Investigator Award (Sponsored by LexisNexis) – Detective Sam Palmer, Phoenix Police, United States
“I am very honored to receive the ConnectedCOPS Social Media Investigator of the year award and look forward to being part of a trend in law enforcement,” said Sam Palmer, Phoenix Police. “Using technology based investigative techniques to help solve crimes is a new direction in law enforcement. It is cutting edge and exciting and I am proud to be part of it.”
Social Media Event Management Award – Calgary Police, AB, Canada
“The Strategic Communications Unit was working 24 hours a day without knowing how long it would be necessary to continue,” said Sean Stephenson, Calgary Police. “While I accept this award on behalf of the Calgary Police Service, I must acknowledge and thank my team for their efforts round the clock on the day the flood hit and the weeks that followed, and all Calgarians for their support and for taking our messages and moving them from social media to social groups.”
Social Media Campaign Management Award – Waterloo Regional Police, ON, Canada
“It is such an honor to be recognized for this award. Social Media has proven to be an incredible weapon for police to engage, educate, inform and connect with our community,” said Gary Askin, Waterloo Regional Police. “We are fortunate and grateful to Lauri Stevens and SMILE/Connected Cops to have created an environment where we can all learn from each other and force multiply our presence to enhance community safety, everywhere.”
For more information on the ConnectedCOPS Awards, please visit http://ConnectedCOPS.net/ConnectedCOPSAwards.
About LAwS Communications
LAwS Communications has been providing interactive media advice to law enforcement since 2005. Open Source communication technologies available today allow organizations to efficiently gather and distribute information like never before. LAwS Communications works with law enforcement professionals to help make sense of the tools available, help agencies craft a plan and social media policy as well as provide the training needed. LAwS Communications can help law enforcement organizations not only understand why an agency should take advantage of social media technologies, but also how to leverage these vast resources. LAwS Communications is located in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is a subsidiary of Stevens & Associates Inc.
For more information, please visit http://lawscommunications.com.
##
Contact:
Lauri Stevens
LAwS Communications
(978) 764-9887
PR Contact:
Nicole Fait
Public Communications Worldwide
(714) 891-3660
nfait@pc-w.com
Who's SMILE'n in Omaha
With two weeks until the next SMILE Conference® in Omaha, this is a list of the police agencies and companies sending at least one person to the conference. The SMILE Conference is hosted by Chief Todd Schmaderer and the men and women of the Omaha Police Department. Our keynotes include Deputy Chief Peter Sloly of Toronto Police and Commissioner Peter Muyshondt of the Belgian Police. Our second day will focus on event management from floods to viral videos to line of duty deaths and our third day features presentations from all three of our finalists in the Social Media Investigator category of the ConnectedCOPS Awards.
We will also explore social media monitoring, engagement, strategy and reputation management. There’s still time to register. Get a discount code from any of our exhibitors or LawOfficer.com.
- Airbnb, Inc., CA
- Arcadia Police Department, CA
- Arlington PD, TX
- Atlanta Police Department, GA
- Aurora Police Department, NE
- BAIR Analytics Inc.
- Barrie Police Service, ON
- Belgian Local Police, Belgium
- Bellevue Police Department, NE
- Bismarck Police Department, ND
- Bismarck, ND, City of
- Borders Limited, Nigeria
- Boston College Police Department, MA
- BrightPlanet, SD
- Calgary Police Service, AB
- Cape Coral Police Department, FL
- CES PRISM
- Cobourg Police Service, ON
- Crime Stoppers USA
- Department of Justice/FBI, VA
- Dover Police, DE
- Geofeedia, Inc., IL
- Hall County Sheriff’s Office, NE
- Harris County Sheriff, TX
- Helsinki Police Department, Finland
- Houston Police, TX
- IES Group/Media Sonar, ON
- Iowa Department of Public Saftey- Division of Intelligence, IA
- Iowa State University Police Department, IA
- Johnson County Sheriff, KS
- Kansas City Police Department, MO
- La Vista Police Department, NE
- LexisNexis
- Longview Police Department, TX
- Los Angeles Police Department, CA
- Massachusetts State Police, MA
- Milwaukee Police Department, WI
- MusterPoint
- NE Game & Parks/Law Enforcement, NE
- Nebraska State Patrol, NE
- New Castle County Police Department, DE
- New Westminster Police Department, BC
- Norfolk Police Department, VA
- NYPD, Sergeants Benevolent Association, NY
- Oakland County Sheriff, MI
- O’Fallon Police Department, MO
- Omaha Police Department, NE
- Orange County Sheriff’s Office, FL
- Peel Regional Police Service, ON
- Peoria Police Department, AZ
- Phoenix Police Department, AZ
- Prince William County Police Department, VA
- Real Time Crisis Intervetion
- Regina Police Service, SK
- Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, Iceland
- Rhode Island State Police, RI
- Round Rock Police Department, TX
- San Mateo Police Department, CA
- Tampa Police Department, FL
- Tempe Police Department, AZ
- Toronto Police Service, ON
- Univ. of Nebraska – Lincoln Police, NE
- Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, CA
- Vermillion Police Department, SD
- Waterloo Regional Police Service, ON
- Winnipeg Police Service, MB
- Winter Park Police Dept, FL
- York Regional Police, ON
ConnectedCOPS Awards 2013: Finalists for Excellence at a Large Agency
ConnectedCOPS Excellence at a Large Agency
This award is given to a law enforcement agency, anywhere in the world, of 151 sworn officers or more that has demonstrated overall excellence in the use of social media to enhance its services to the public. The agency exhibits leadership, creativity and innovation in its use of social media to engage, educate, recruit, and etc. The agency has a broad and deep understanding of social media use and applies sound governance and strategy in its social media operations. The agency also promotes the use of social networking in law enforcement through its outreach to colleagues and by mentoring others.
We have three finalists and they are:
Reykjavik Police, Iceland
Since it was founded in 2007 the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police (RMP) has worked to enhance the security and feeling of security among those who live, work or stay in the metropolitan area. To achieve this objective the RMP has focused on increasing the visibility of the police, increased information sharing and building a proactive community partnership. The RMP tapped social media at the end of 2010 and is rapidly accomplishing these goals as a result. With over 42,000 Facebook subscribers the RMP is connected to 20% of the population it serves. The RMP also makes very creative use of Twitter, Instagram, Flickr and YouTube.
Saanich Police, British Columbia, Canada
The Saanich Police Department (SPD) believes that the true essence of community engagement via social media is accomplished by empowering its agency’s members. The department’s newly established social media policy provides the ability for all agency members to reach the community. SPD supports and encourages specific units within the agency to engage on a personal level. SPD credits its social media program for ensuring that its messaging and community engagement activities are delivered in a clear, timely and responsible manner. With creativity and innovation the SPD has become a global leader with its use of social media.
Cape Coral Police, Florida, United States
Social Media is a major component of the Cape Coral Police Department’s (CCPD) Community Engagement Program. In order to achieve fundamental transformation and a significant shift in the direction that the Department was moving, the CCPD used a two-pronged approach. First, CCPD took back control of its presence on the web from a central city webmaster and went in a completely different direction. CCPD created a new website built around a blogging engine and tightly integrated with social media and optimized for searchability. The focus was on rich media, compelling content, useful information, and 2-way communication with citizens. Second, The CCPD Social Media Program focused on key social networks in order to maximize the reach of the agency’s message. The CCPD has focused on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube to achieve its goals and become world leaders in police us of social media.
Winners will be announced September 25th at the SMILE Conference™ in Omaha, Nebraska.
Previously announced finalists:
- Social Media Investigator
- Excellence at a Small Agency
- Social Media Event Management
- Social Media Civilian Award of Excellence
- Leadership Award
- Social Media Campaign Management
- Top Cop Award
The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.
ConnectedCOPS Awards 2013: Finalists for Top Cop Award
ConnectedCOPS Top Cop
This award is given to the sworn law enforcement executive of the rank of LT (or its international equivalent) and above, at any worldwide law enforcement agency who has demonstrated significant and sustained executive leadership to further the use of social media and Internet technologies in law enforcement. This individual is a risk-taker and a pioneer in his or her promotion and use of social media in policing. The recipient of the Top Cop Award also gives his thought leadership and expertise freely to others.
The three finalists are:
Chief Brian Kyes, Chelsea, Ma Police
Because of Chief Kyes’ tireless devotion and commitment, and in a very short amount of time, the Chelsea Police Department has developed a strong presence in social media. The Chelsea Police Department launched a brand new multi-lingual ChelseaPolice.com web site. The site offers a lot of information for the public to access with a blog, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and the Chief’s Weekly. Chief Kyes always stresses the need to acknowledge the diversity of the city and build a program where citizens could become more engaged with public safety and related events.
Deputy Chief Peter Sloly, Toronto Police
Because he was so quick to see the benefits of implementing social media into police operations, Deputy Chief Sloly was among the earliest of adopters of open source technology into law enforcement. Three years into the Force’s Social Media Strategy, over 300 members have been trained and authorized to represent TPS in social media. Deputy Sloly’s approach has been to decentralize social communications. His colleagues and subordinates will say they believe his approach is saving lives. Deputy Sloly is constantly called upon to share his knowledge at police and social media conferences, which he does regularly.
Inspector Michael Brown, West Midlands Police, UK
Inspector Brown is widely known and recognized for his work in mental health policing. His work, especially his “Paramedic Series” of posts on his blog Mental Health Cop has educated police officers, their agencies and others internationally. Inspector Brown freely gives of his time and expertise to mentor his colleagues at hospitals, ambulances services, mental health units as well as patients.
Finalists in the other awards categories have been announced throughout this week on this blog. Check back to see the finalists for the Excellence at a Large Agency Award tomorrow. Winners will be announced September 25th at the SMILE Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Social Media Investigator
- Excellence at a Small Agency
- Social Media Event Management
- Social Media Civilian Award of Excellence
- Leadership Award
- Social Media Campaign Management
The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created by LAwS Communications with the intent of recognizing the good work being done by individual officers and law enforcement agencies with social media. The international law enforcement community will be considered for these awards. Any officer or agency anywhere in the world is eligible.