As Facebook continues to grow, one local Sheriff has started using it with a large outreach goal in mind.
Reaching hundreds at a time, Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber plans to go Live on Facebook monthly.
“It just gives me another arena, and it is pretty well received.”
The goal is to share information, answer questions, and is also an effort to get the community involved.
“You can have dialoug with people, they can ask questions, and you can reply to them live.”
Bieber said many of his posts get shared by hundreds at a time, but not all agree it is the right thing to do.
Some other members of law enforcement say being too transparent makes it hard for law enforcenemet to do their job.
Bieber says getting the community involved his how he views successful policing, and it is his goal moving forward.
“I don’t want to blow their cases, but I truly believe the public can help us. They want to be involved and want this information.”
Bieber says his posts usually get hundreds of shares and views, and pointed to an example of one photo he posted.
“We even posted a photo that went viral, and has been viewed by over 3 million people, and even people in Japan saw it.”
Bieber said that was a photo of a car seat that was in a car that was totaled in an accident. The photo shows the child car seats without any damage, showing the importance they have for young children’s safety.
“I am very proactive, and it goes with our philosophay which is “We are the Public and the Public are the Police.”
Bieber says while many disagree with sharing so much information the way Shawano County does, it has led to quite a bit of positive responses.
“Whenever I am out I hear about our Facebook page, and people who interview for jobs with our department want to work for us because they like what we do and how we communicate.”
The Sheriff says he will remain an open book, and says he believes people need to be in the loop so they can protect themselves and their families.
In his first video, the Sheriff talked how to protect your dogs from being poisoned, protecting your property with security, and traffic issues in the county.
