An example of how Twitter is not always the best way to announce news came last week from Greater Manchester Police via their @gmpolice Twitter handle. Before informing the family they announced that a missing girl has been found in the city centre and it was through Twitter that her mother discovered her daughter had been found.
In such circumstances a phone call or a personal visit would have been the quickest and most appropriate way of conveying what the good news. In general, Greater Manchester Police make great use of Twitter requesting and obtaining witnesses and information through the channel.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/gmpolice/status/181647157818961921″]
There approach has also been innovative. In October they tweeted all incidents in the Greater Manchester area using the #GMP24 hashtag, an idea that has since been borrowed by other forces. They were are also the first force to tweet the names, dates of birth and addresses of convicted looters following last summer’s riots.