Beaumont Police Launch New Digital Efforts To Connect With Community: VIDEO

BEAUMONT, CA — Local police are ramping up their efforts to connect with the community, and they're using the latest digital media trends to do so. With a revamped website and increased social media presence, Pass citizens should expect to hear a lot more from the Beaumont Police Department.

"It's been the goal of the city and the chief of police to really reach out to the public — to be transparent, to get information out to the public," Public Information Officer Marcedes McFayden says.

Transparency has been the main objective for many of the city's newly elected officials after a tumultuous era plagued Beaumont. As the city has undergone a facelift at the elected official level, the leadership efforts at BPD are following suit.

"The police department is aware that to most effectively reach the community, we must communicate with them on the platforms they are using," Chief Sean Thulliez says.

Starting with a redesigned website, beaumontpd.org, the agency says it wanted to make it as easy as possible for citizens to find out what's going on in town — and to be able to take care of some common business from home. Things like online property crime reporting are designed with the goal of allowing community members to easily file reports for things like a lost or stolen phone, which will then give users immediate access to a report number that can be provided to insurance companies.

If you want to see what sort of crimes may have been reported in your neighborhood, a crime statistic map lays out all the non-violent crimes. Be sure to also sign up for real-time crime alerts, for reverse 911 calls in emergencies to mobile phones or landlines, SMS text messages or email.

The police department's social media accounts are also accessible from the home page, which will allow you to connect via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The site is still a work in progress, and McFayden says to check back often for updates. Online pet licensing is just one of the features that should be expected soon.

Click here to explore the site, and be sure to check out the video above!

Patch photo by Renee Schiavone