MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Would you report an emergency to law enforcement on Facebook?
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says, unfortunately, some people are using social media this way.
“It’s not a chat room,” said Randy Warren with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
He is one of many people assigned to keep an eye on the messages coming on social media 24/7.
“The (public information officer), assistant PIO, social media coordinator, we're all taking a look at (the department's Facebook page). We have supervisors, lieutenants, sergeants,” he said.
“We’ve noticed a trend," he said of people posting about possible emergencies on Facebook. "Maybe people find it convenient, maybe they’re too lazy to have to pick up the phone.”
Warren said the messages range from people threatening suicide to requesting a welfare check on a loved one.
He pulled up one message where the sender provided photos of a someone in a car rummaging through trash in their neighborhood.
Warren says with each message the department sends an automatic reply that says, “Thank you for the message. If this is an emergency call 911, or for non-emergency call 941-747-3011, Ext 2260 and speak to a deputy. You can also email us at dave.bristow@manateesheriff.com.”
Warren shared another message about road rage in a Bradenton neighborhood of Regal Oaks.
But he said these messages are not always seen in real time.
“If it’s ongoing, we need to respond to it. We don’t want to be looking at the message … sometimes there’s a huge delay. The back-and-forth messaging takes too much time,” he said.
Warren added, “If it’s an emergency they don’t need to be messaging us. Something that is life-threatening or serious … that is what 911 is for."
Warrens says reporting emergencies on social media hasn’t become a huge problem yet. The sheriff’s office can go a day without any reports. But they’re trying to get the word out that this isn’t the fastest and most effective way to get help during an emergency.
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