Pilot program to use social media to connect NYPD precinct with Queens communities

COLLEGE POINT (WABC) -- The NYPD is looking for ways to better service the community, and starting in April, the department will be testing out a pilot program in Queens.

It's called Idea Scale, and it will be a new way for officers to get tips and deal with concerns from the public.

It's a social media push for the 109th Precinct, which covers 12 miles and 247,000 New Yorkers. And pretty soon, those residents will be able to learn more about police, and police more about them.

"The major issue in these neighborhoods is no longer major crime," 109th Precinct Deputy Inspector Thomas Conforti said. "It's quality of life issues, whether it be traffic or noise complaints."

Conforti is one of the first police commanders to embrace social media, all part of the simple fact that the role of police in New York City is changing. A year ago, it was Twitter. Now, it's Idea Scale.

"Twitter is a push out, as you now," NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said. "This is about being able to engage more loosely, getting information coming in, that we can respond to."

Community Council President Chrissy Voskerichian says she's excited about the new pilot program, so that when people in Flushing or College Point want to complain about speeding or graffiti, they don't have to go to the precinct. They can just go to their computer.

"You're putting out small fires," she said. "You're addressing small concerns or issues before they become big problems...and who knows their blocks and their neighborhoods better than the people who actually live on them?"

Mayor Bill de Blasio has used the term "community policing" frequently, and social media is part of his grand design so that police and community work together better and trust each other more.

"There is nothing more powerful that's out there, and the key is the community has to buy into it, which they do in this precinct," Conforti said. "And the officers have to buy into it too, which they do also."

The program beings on April 8 and covers Flushing, College Point and Whitestone. Anyone living in those areas who would like to sign up on the new site or get more information can email 109precinctcc@gmail.com.