❓ Mr. Morton asks about WA Police's use of social media for community engagement. The Minister outlines a three-month trial devolving social media use to local districts for information dissemination and emergency management.
AnsweredQoN 81Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — SOCIAL MEDIA USE
81. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for Police:
I have noticed that our police have started using social
media as a way of engaging with the Western Australian community. With this in
mind, can the minister please outline the details of this approach being taken
by Western Australia Police?
81. MR N.W. MORTON to the Minister for Police:
I have noticed that our police have started using social
media as a way of engaging with the Western Australian community. With this in
mind, can the minister please outline the details of this approach being taken
by Western Australia Police?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Forrestfield for the question, and
indeed his high interest in law and order issues in his electorate.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
thank the member for Kwinana for his input, but I would like to answer the
member for Forrestfield's question at this time.
The SPEAKER :
Minister, answer the question.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
have been on the record a number of times in this place talking about how
community engagement is an area of very high priority for this government. So,
consistent with that approach to improving the opportunities for community
engagement with our WA police service, we have started a three-month trial on
social media. Members in this house will probably already be aware that WA
Police already has a presence on social media; it is on Facebook and it is
tweeting, and that is being centrally managed. Effectively, that is being used
at the moment as more of an intelligence-gathering tool, whereby police will
monitor social media for the purposes of determining where out-of-control
parties are, and they monitor hoon sites—all those sorts of activities.
With this project—it is a three-month trial—we are devolving
the use of social media in two districts, the north west metropolitan district
and the south west district. This will give those local districts an
opportunity to start tweeting information—indeed, they have already
started—to the community that is of interest to those local communities
with interests around the local districts. There will also be a Facebook page
set up by the north west metropolitan district on a trial basis for the next
three months to see what sort of community response there will be, and whether
this can improve opportunities for community engagement with police. We
envisage that the local districts will be able to get information out to their
communities—it can be used as an emergency management tool—by
tweeting, and updating their Facebook pages about areas that may be of interest
to the local groups that will subscribe to their local districts to get local
information about crime, law and order issues and emergency information.
indeed his high interest in law and order issues in his electorate.
Mr R.H. Cook interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
thank the member for Kwinana for his input, but I would like to answer the
member for Forrestfield's question at this time.
The SPEAKER :
Minister, answer the question.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Kwinana!
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
have been on the record a number of times in this place talking about how
community engagement is an area of very high priority for this government. So,
consistent with that approach to improving the opportunities for community
engagement with our WA police service, we have started a three-month trial on
social media. Members in this house will probably already be aware that WA
Police already has a presence on social media; it is on Facebook and it is
tweeting, and that is being centrally managed. Effectively, that is being used
at the moment as more of an intelligence-gathering tool, whereby police will
monitor social media for the purposes of determining where out-of-control
parties are, and they monitor hoon sites—all those sorts of activities.
With this project—it is a three-month trial—we are devolving
the use of social media in two districts, the north west metropolitan district
and the south west district. This will give those local districts an
opportunity to start tweeting information—indeed, they have already
started—to the community that is of interest to those local communities
with interests around the local districts. There will also be a Facebook page
set up by the north west metropolitan district on a trial basis for the next
three months to see what sort of community response there will be, and whether
this can improve opportunities for community engagement with police. We
envisage that the local districts will be able to get information out to their
communities—it can be used as an emergency management tool—by
tweeting, and updating their Facebook pages about areas that may be of interest
to the local groups that will subscribe to their local districts to get local
information about crime, law and order issues and emergency information.
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