Scottsdale police Twitter to get the word out

Scottsdale's police department is tweeting. And it has persuaded the city and fire department to do the same.

This kind of tweeting isn't something for the birds - it's the act of using the Web site Twitter.com to put out short bursts of information over cell phones, online alerts, instant messaging services and the site.

Anyone can view the Scottsdale Police Department's updates on its Twitter profile, www.twitter.com/scottsdalepd.

Twitter updates can be 140 characters at most, so they're designed to get bits of information out quickly and succinctly.

That makes Twitter perfect to fill a need illustrated by last year's shootings at Virginia Tech: Sending alerts directly to people's cell phones, said Sgt. Mark Clark, Scottsdale police spokesman.

"Ever since that incident, police departments have been looking for ways to get information out to the public," Clark said. "We try to think what the public needs to know."

This won't cut out the department's other communication methods, like talking to the media, putting information on its Web site or holding news conferences - all effective means of informing the public, Clark said.

And since Twitter messages have to be short, there won't be a lot of details.

But it is a good method to communicate information of immediate interest, like road closures, Clark said.

"It is kind of dynamic when floodwaters come and roads open and close," he said.

For instance, there was a Twitter alert on Thursday morning warning drivers of a crash at Scottsdale Road and Gold Dust Avenue. Posts on Tuesday and Wednesday gave updates on the search for a drowning victim at Scottsdale Ranch Park.

Scottsdale's city and fire department spokespeople are getting on board, too.

Fire spokeswoman Tiffani Nichols opened an account this week and has already posted a few tweets. City spokesman Mike Phillips has an account, too, though he's not using it yet.

Phillips said he'd meet with Clark soon to discuss Twitter's uses, maybe for things like traffic and storm updates.

Twitter probably won't be the last technological innovation coming to Scottsdale.

The police department is planning monthly, 20- to 30-minute podcasts, which are like online radio shows that can be played on a computer or MP3 player, Clark said.

Shows will modeled on the department's "Behind the Badge" show on cable Channel 11.

The city is also looking at online outlets like Facebook, Web videos and blogs to reach out, Phillips said.

"The way the younger generation uses media is different than adults in their 30s and 40s," Phillips said. "We need to adapt to the way our citizens use media. And that's rapidly changing."

Follow Scottsdale on Twitter

Police Department: www.twitter.com/scottsdalepd

Fire Department: www.twitter.com/scottsdalefire

City news: www.twitter.com/mikephillipscos

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