Illinois County Gets Police Podcast
The Will County, IL, Police Department plans to broadcast weekly police reports over iPod listening device channels, a form of broadcasting known as podcasting.
Will County Police Sheriff Paul Kaupas says podcasting will enable police to disseminate information widely, present their point of view on specific incidents, and also send out neighborhood-specific information to reach people in specific neighborhoods.
For instance, the department plans to report stories such as this one: During two recent weekends in Plainfield Township, IL, 31 vehicles were stolen, and only a single vehicle was locked.
Police department representative Pat Barry notes that “the print media sometimes can only give what they are being told, and they are sometimes limited in what they can say by the space they have.”
The New York City Police Department began podcasting an “Inside the NYPD” show in 2005 that features stories such as recent profiles on a police academy, a fire rescue incident, and a Muslim police chaplain.
Will County, IL, also hopes its podcasting will reach young people, and that this in turn may lead to crime tips coming back in youth-specific cases.
The county already sends out e-mail alerts about crimes to around 3,000 recipients, and has garnered tips from this e-mail program.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from the Chicago Tribune (05/18/07) P. M1; Dardick, Hal.