Police in Carmarthenshire are preparing for take-off on a journey into the popular photo-sharing social media channel Instagram.
Dyfed Powys Police has launched a profile for Carmarthenshire division today (Thursday, May 14).
At 12noon ‘dyfedpowyscarms’ posted its first photo on Instagram. It features the three Police Community Support Officers who will be leading the Instagram trial for the county.
Carmarthen PCSO Jayde Probert, Ammanford PCSO Dayton Hughes and Llanelli PCSO Dan Brown will be responsible for posting photos on the app. They will be on the look-out for photo opportunities that will engage young people, as well as other Instagram users, while giving a behind the scenes tour of policing in Carmarthenshire attempting to capture the novel moments that would otherwise not be seen by the public.
Followers of the Instagram account can expect to see a mix of photos of: officers engaging with local people; behind-the-scenes at police stations and inside police vehicles; historical pictures of police in Carmarthenshire and crime prevention and police enforcement messages.
PCSO Jayde Probert said: “We were hearing time and time again from young people we speak to that they were using Instagram, so we have listened to their feedback and are going to trial an Instagram account for Carmarthenshire to communicate more effectively with a younger audience.
“We are aiming to show people a different side to policing in Carmarthenshire. Police officers and PCSOs have to deal with serious crimes and incidents on a day to day basis, but we do enjoy our work too and we hope we will encourage Instagram users to see us as real people, not just uniforms.”
Superintendent Claire Parmenter is driving the Instagram pilot for Carmarthenshire in Dyfed Powys Police.
Supt. Parmenter said: “Digital engagement is a rapidly-growing, continually developing area of communication that Dyfed Powys Police wants to be part of. The Force currently has profiles on Twitter, Facebook and You Tube. The use of Instagram has been explored by our Digital Engagement Board and it has been agreed that a pilot Instagram will be run in Carmarthenshire to test a new way of communicating more effectively with a younger community. If Instagram is successful for Carmarthenshire its use will be adopted for the entire Force area.
“This is a really exciting time for police in Carmarthenshire and I urge Instagram users to follow our account ‘dyfedpowyscarms’ for an insight to police life.”
To follow police in Carmarthenshire on Instagram go to www.instagram.com/dyfedpowyscarms.
Carmarthenshire’s Neighbourhood Policing Teams are also on Twitter! Follow @NPTLlanelliWest, @LlwynhendyNPT, @NPTCarmsWest, @DPP_Ammanford and @DPP_Towy_NPTfor all the latest updates.
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