BOSTON, Dec. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday Dec. 19^th starting at 8 a.m. local time and continuing for 24 hours, police departments and officers around the globe will connect on Twitter for the fourth semi annual Global Tweet-A-Thon using #POLTwt.  The main purpose of this tweet-a-thon is to connect officers from around the world and help build relationships between police and the citizens they serve because public safety is a shared responsibility for all members of a community.

Police departments and individual officers are encouraged to tweet all calls, tweet about specific topics to educate citizens, or simply tweet the beat.  The only rule is that all tweets must include #PolTwt, the official hashtag for the Global Police Tweet-a-thon.

"More than at any time in recent memory, we find police and public safety agencies defined by isolated and often tragic events - events that bear little resemblance to our day to day interaction with our public," said Colonel Timothy P. Alben, superintendent at Massachusetts State Police. "Social media provides a window to the reality of community and public safety - a place where compassion, commitment, service, conflict and yes, even occasional tragedy, are on display for all to view and be better informed."

As part of an effort to further engage the community during a tense time in North America, the use of hashtag #TimeToUnify is also encouraged to create a dialog for unity.

"We always hear from those critical of law enforcement during the tweet-a-thons and given the tense atmosphere we're in today, this one will certainly be no different," commented Lauri Stevens, social media strategist for law enforcement and founder of the tweet-a-thon. "We hope that at least some of them will talk with us rather than at us. That's why we're using the hashtag #TimeToUnify as an attempt to encourage that."

Stevens continued, "This is certainly not the time to say less as police officers. Instead the policing profession needs to say more about the fantastic work they do. We need to increase the policing share of voice on social media."

Contribute to the dialog and join hundreds of police colleagues from around the globe.  Members of the public are encouraged to participate. To sign up, visit http://poltwt.net and click "Register Now".

About LAwS Communications
LAwS Communications has been providing interactive media advice to law enforcement since 2005. Open Source communication technologies available today allow organizations to efficiently gather and distribute information like never before. LAwS Communications works with law enforcement professionals to help make sense of the tools available, help agencies craft a plan and social media policy as well as provide the training needed. LAwS Communications can help law enforcement organizations not only understand why an agency should take advantage of social media technologies, but also how to leverage these vast resources. LAwS Communications is located in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is a subsidiary of Stevens & Associates Inc.

For more information, please visit http://lawscommunications.com.

Contact:
Lauri Stevens
LAwS Communications
(978) 764-9887
lauri@lawscomm.net

Media Contact:
Nicole Fait
Copernio
(714) 891-3660
nfait@copernio.com

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SOURCE LAwS Communications

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