On the beat and on the Tweet

TWO local policing officers are now online as well as on patrol, after they signed up to the social networking site Twitter.

Sergeant Sharon Falconer is based in Bedford and can be found on Twitter @BedfordLPT while Inspector John Murphy who is based in Luton can be followed on @LutonPoliceInsp

Bedfordshire Police already tweets every day from @bedspolice and has more than 6,000 followers.

Sharon and John’s aim is to build relationships with the communities they serve and keep residents informed and up to date on events, policing successes, crime prevention messages, and local appeals.

Bedfordshire Police also has a Facebook site which now has over 20,000 fans. E-communications manager Andrea Briggs said: “We have excellent support from all our followers and fans and we hope that encouraging officers to communicate in this way brings us closer to the people we serve while helping to fight crime and protect the public.”