Seattle Cops Twitter Account Nabs First Stolen Car

The Seattle police force has been using Twitter to tweet descriptions of stolen cars for just a few days and already have a success story.

@Getyourcarback started December 1, by December 14 a call to 911 from a woman identified a stolen Honda Civic and the car was recovered.

An ingenious solution to a growing problem, the Seattle Police 911 Center will tweet the color, year, make, model, body style and license plate of the stolen car on the “Get your car back” Twitter account. Twitter followers who spot a car that has been tweeted as stolen are instructed to call 911.

Seattle averages about 10 car thefts per day.

Sergeant Sean Whitcomb from the Seattle Police Media Response Unit told the Ballard News Tribune:

That’s a big number that we’re hoping to reduce. One, we want to get people aware about theft. Two, reduce the likelihood that a car gets stolen. And three, we want thieves to get the message that the fact a car was stolen isn’t just law enforcement knowledge anymore. Everyone in the community will know and driving around in a stolen car will get noticed.

Seattle police are confident that Twitter can reduce the number of car thefts and increase the number of recovered stolen cars. The spokesman touted the speed at which information can get to Twitter followers and said he hopes people will…

keep their eyes peeled on stolen cars.

Currently the site only has just over 900 followers. Some cars that have been tweeted recently are:

1. RED 1992 FORD EXPLORER SUV LIC/248ZWG.WA ***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911*** about 11 hours ago via web
2. COLOR: BLACK YR: 1994 MAKE: HONDA MODEL: PRELUDE BODY: 2D LIC: 436FRA ST: WA ***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911*** about 16 hours ago via web
3. COLOR: TAN YR: 1999 MAKE: NISSAN MODEL: MAXIMA BODY: 4D LIC: AA1W7K ST: MO ***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911*** about 16 hours ago via web
4. COLOR: WHITE YR:1991 MAKE: HONDA MODEL: ACCORD BODY: 4DR LIC: 898VTN ST: WA ***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911*** about 19 hours ago via web
5. COLOR: BLUE YR: 1995 MAKE: NISSAN MODEL: PATHFINDER BODY: SUV LIC: 486SZI ST: WA ***DO NOT MAKE CONTACT CALL 911*** about 23 hours ago via web

With the number of cops on the streets being reduced due to budget cuts, using technology and social media to crowdsource solving crimes will probably hit the mean streets of many other cities.

Photo: PopCultureGeek

Source: Ballard News Tribune