HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (Warren County) – Police departments around the world have been using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for years but the Hackettstown police will be using another social media network to better engage with the public.
On Wednesday, the police department announced the launch of their Snapchat and they’ve had a great response, Sgt. Darren Tynan said.
The Hackettstown Police Department is always looking for ways to continue community outreach in Hackettstown and building on the success of their social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we believe that Snapchat will appeal to our younger generation. They’re more into instantaneous communication channels rather than the traditional channels that are commonly used by other departments around the country, Tynan said.
In terms of what you can expect to see on Snapchat, we plan on highlighting some of our officers by posting short 10 second clips focused on different topics, and to show our officers as well as K9 Jada in the community, Tynan said.
“Some people might be asking themselves, will they be seeing Hackettstown’s Finest with a dog-face or smush-face filter? You never know but what they’ll definitely see are cool photos and stories,” Tynan said.
When asked how Snapchat can help in our community outreach? Tynan said, “We want to connect to the whole Hackettstown community and we shouldn’t forget the younger generation. We want them to feel they have a close connection with their local police department.”
However, the Hackettstown Police Department wants to remind its followers not to use social media to report emergencies. The Snapchat account is not set up to receive messages. To report emergencies people should call 911 or the Hackettstown Police Department at 908-852-3300.
Snapchat can be downloaded on the iPhone App Store and the Android App Store for free. To add the Hackettstown Police Department, you can search HackettstownPD, or users can take a picture of the Snap Code within the app, and it will automatically add the profile.
