Keeping 85,000 Residents Informed:
The NYCRPD’s Strategy for Effective Community Outreach
Government
Introduction
Effective and direct resident communication is critical to Chief David Lash of the Northern York County Regional Police Department (NYCRPD), which serves 11 municipalities and roughly 85,000 residents.
“We serve roughly 20% of York County and have a responsibility to keep residents safe and informed 24/7/365,” explains Lash.
For more than a year, the NYCRPD’s go-to communication channel to residents has been Savvy Citizen.
“Savvy Citizen has been a huge success for our resident communication needs,” says Lash.
“One of our favorite features is the automated traffic and weather alerts. Being able to send road closure information to residents quickly and automatically saves our officers’ time.”
In addition to traffic and weather alerts, NYCRPD shares a daily police activity log with residents which describes the date, time and location of every incident within their service area.
Like many other agencies and municipalities, the NYCRPD has tried other communication channels with mixed results. Among them, Facebook has been problematic.
“Recently, Facebook has removed a number of our posts as they have been erroneously flagged as spam,” says Lash.
The Challenge
- Trust Issues with Facebook for Communication: Facebook has proven unreliable, with many posts being reported as spam and removed, and less than 10% of content reaching subscribers.
- Efficient Communication with Residents: Serving 11 municipalities and 85,000 residents requires timely and effective communication, which is challenging when relying on inconsistent platforms like social media.
- Need for Streamlined Communication Tools: Managing communication for multiple municipalities is complex, necessitating a tool like Savvy Citizen to centralize and simplify information sharing across different communities.
“Providing my officers with administrative access to Savvy Citizen is extremely easy.”
— Chief David Lash, Northern York County Regional Police Department (NYCRPD)
What Did MSA Do
“This is very concerning and I just don’t trust Facebook to deliver our information.”
Chief Lash’s concern is valid, as many social media experts provide evidence that less than 10% of Facebook content is seen by subscribers to a page. If a local government, or an agency such as the police, wants to communicate timely safety information via social media, it isn’t reaching their audience. Unlike social media, Savvy Citizen delivers the message to residents 100% of the time.
More than half of the municipalities that the NYCRPD serves are Savvy Citizen users as well. This creates a very robust ‘one stop shop’ for resident communication where they follow NYCRPD as well as the local communities.
“Resident feedback regarding Savvy Citizen has been very good, very receptive,” says Lash.
Additionally, Chief Lash has provided access to a team of his officers so they may enter content as needed.
“Providing my officers with administrative access to Savvy Citizen is extremely easy,” says Lash.
“Savvy Citizen is easy to use, and easy for my staff to use.”
See More Case Studies From Savvy Citizen
The Results
Lash intends to lean even more on Savvy Citizen in the future.
“We are excited for our audience to continue to grow as new communities within our jurisdiction join Savvy Citizen. We look forward to keeping residents safer and more informed with the important information we share.”
