Oswego Police Turn to Social Network to Provide Community Alerts

Officials at the Oswego Police Department recognize that the Internet has changed the way people communicate. People often glean the latest headlines or chat with their friends on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

That's why the department is now using Twitter to update village residents about everything from road closings to car break-ins to the addresses of registered sex offenders who have moved into Oswego.

The department's Twitter page has attracted 146 followers. The department can be found @oswegopolice.

Examples of recent posts include a notice of 16 car burglaries in a two-day span back in late October and two notices of registered sex offenders moving into the village, complete with the offenders' names and addresses.

Detective Sgt. Jeff Burgner said the department began using Twitter last summer. The goal is to keep residents informed in any way possible, Burgner said. And with the growing popularity of social media, Twitter was a natural.

"We are always trying to come up with different venues to get information to the public," Burgner said. "Online methods seem to be working. It's an alternative to just posting information in the newspapers."

Providing information about registered sex offenders moving into the village is an important way for the department to use Twitter, Burgner said. This is information that residents, especially the parents of children, want to know. By posting the names and addresses of these offenders on the Twitter page, the department can instantly broadcast this information to the entire village, Burgner said.

The Twitter page contains a link at its bottom to a map of sex offenders living in Oswego. Village residents can find information about any of the eight registered sex offenders residing in town, including the offenders' names, addresses, date of birth and their crimes.

The Police Department also uses its Twitter page to direct visitors to the department's main Web site to find longer press releases. These longer releases may include information on recent crimes or a description of the suspects accused of committing a crime.

"There is only a limited number of characters that you can include with a Twitter message," Burgner said. "We put more of our in-depth information on the department Web site."

So far, Burgner says, he hasn't received much feedback about the department's Twitter page. But because the page has attracted more than 100 followers, he knows people are reading.

"We'll explore anything that helps us get more information out to residents," Burgner said. "If Twitter helps, then we'll use it."

List of registered sex offenders in Oswego