July 19, 2011
Brandon Haught
Public Information Office

SHERIFF’S OFFICE NOW ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YOUTUBE

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the launch of three new ways for citizens to access timely public safety information about their communities. The Sheriff’s Office is now on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The Facebook page, found at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Volusia-County-Sheriffs-Office/216349651737578, will feature up-to-date news, crime prevention tips, updates on “most wanted” fugitives and missing persons and other items of interest. Citizens are encouraged to use the page to stay informed and to get involved by offering feedback. Current Facebook users can “like” the page now to start getting updates in their regular News Feed.

The Twitter page, found at http://twitter.com/#!/VolusiaSheriff, will also provide up-to-date information on important news as it happens. A valuable feature of Twitter is the ability for users to get the posted updates in a variety of ways. They can visit the Twitter page, receive e-mail messages and have text messages sent to their cell phones. To get the e-mails or text messages, the user must have his or her own Twitter account and then choose the desired delivery options. Current Twitter users can follow @VolusiaSheriff.

The YouTube page, found at http://www.youtube.com/user/vcsopio, contains important public safety messages and interesting video features about Sheriff’s Office programs and activities.

In addition to providing extra tools for rapidly disseminating critical public safety information, Sheriff Ben Johnson said he’s also looking forward to the community dialogue that’s fostered by social media’s interactive features. “These social media outlets are free and easy-to-use ways for us to communicate with the citizens we serve,” said Sheriff Johnson. “The ability to quickly get information to people through services many already use just makes sense.”