Somewhere at Calgary Police HQ, a pair of young social media specialists huddle with constables Amanda Guenther and John Kim. One of the young professionals, Jessica Donnelly, holds up a phone. The other, Sunny Sidhu, holds up the script. Guenther and Kim, both school resource officers, work their way through the awkwardness as they shoot a TikTok video directed at students, about being kind to their classmates. A little while later they head outside and work on a lip-synch to Kardashian audio for another clip. The more meme of the two will actually serve as a way to talk a bit about their uniforms. It isn’t the kind of uncomfortable that came to mind when they answered the call to become cops. Still, they volunteered to do it. Guenther says it’s “important that we do this.” She says it’s “how the kids get all their info these days.” Kim says he was “a little nervous,” but “in this day and age, social media’s a way to get through to kids and get messages out there.” He says it’s “a great channel.” Tell me the times they are a-changin’ without telling me the times they are a-changin’... Meet them where they’re at The Calgary Police Service has run a TikTok account since May of this year. It’s largely the local force’s school resource officers appearing in the videos, with the help of the social media and digital teams. Emma Poole, strategic communications director, says the SROs “have been a massive asset because they are so recognizable.” “The kids know them,” she said. “They trust them.” Poole notes the 20-somethings working with them were also “specifically selected.” “We’re hiring people who are subject matter experts,” she said. Poole will tell you she’s “a solid Gen X-er” who was resistant to TikTok at first. She’ll also tell you she’s “eating her words” now. Engagement is high. This is where people are, now, she says, and CPS has to find a way to join them there. “Fewer and fewer people are sitting at in front of a computer or watching a TV,” Poole said. “People are out and about. They’re on their phone.” Before the 2013 floods, CPS didn’t have any active social media. It was during that crisis the local force launched its very first accounts. Poole says it started with a single constable account. “We were in such a state of crisis and we had to find a way to reach as many people as possible,” she said. And now? Dozens of accounts, Poole says, covering multiple areas across the service. “We’re always walking that fine line between entertainment and education,” she said. “We want people to be entertained by the content, but we’re also a taxpayer-funded organization. “We need to make sure that behind everything is a public safety message or a call to action.” The need to quickly pivot When the need for a shift in tone hits, it hits quickly. In July of this year, just a couple of months after the TikTok account launched, an 11-year-old autistic boy went missing. Parker Wells’ story ultimately ended in tragedy. But for the two weeks between the call that he was missing and the discovery of his body, all resources were tapped for the search. Whatever plans they had were shelved and anything anyone could come up with to post and help the search was fair for consideration. Donnelly and Sidhu worked through that desperate search. Donnelly says they “never know what’s going to happen day to day.” “We have content planned that we think is OK to go out, but when something like that happens, we have to shift,” Donnelly said. Sidhu says when the shift happens, they “have to stop everything in terms of pre-planned content.” “We also have to monitor a lot of different things (such as tips left in comments) coming our way,” Sidhu said. During the search, the communications, social and digital teams worked on a number of videos. Those who watched learned how to properly check a property. They learned how various units, such as the K9 unit, were being used. They learned how they could get involved, as well as what wouldn’t be helpful to or would hinder others. And they heard a direct message from Parker Wells’ parents in the aftermath. During the Parker Wells search, across the various social media platforms, tens of thousands of comments were left. Post impressions were in the millions—many millions. All eyes on social media It’s interesting, Guenther says, that in our personal and professional lives, “we’re cautioned about social media.” And that’s because everyone’s watching. But likewise, so many, police included, are so keen to use it for that same reason—because everyone’s watching.
