While the Manteca Police Department maintains an active presence on social media to help inform the public about what is going on in the community, that doesn’t mean you should send a private message with time-sensitive information instead of calling 911 or contacting dispatch.
That was the message that the agency released this week after the number of requests for service to the agency’s Facebook and Instagram accounts continued to rise.
Even though the Manteca Police Department routinely posts current information to its social media accounts and even engages in the comment sections of some of those accounts, relying on messages sent to those accounts likely result in a delay in the service that is being sought – which could be dangerous or even life-threatening.
“The Manteca PD does not monitor Facebook or Instagram around the clock,” the agency said in a release. “In fact, most public safety agencies don’t do this.
“Reporting time-sensitive information to us through these social media platforms will likely result in a very delayed response.”
According to the agency, the best way to report time-sensitive information or criminal activity that has already occurred is to call the Manteca Police dispatch at 209.456.8101. For crimes that are in progress or issues that could be classified as “life-threatening’ people should still call 911.
Non-emergency incidents such as graffiti, abandoned vehicles, code enforcement violations, or similar issues are urged to use the Government Outreach system by visiting https://www.ci.manteca.ca.us/Pages/GORequest.aspx.
“We would hate to miss important and/or time-sensitive information because folks chose to use Facebook or Instagram messaging,” the agency wrote in the release.
Government agencies like the Manteca Police Department often use social media as a way to maintain an online presence and inform the public about things that are going in the community. In order to help prevent any further confusion, the agency has included a note on its Facebook page informing visitors that the page is “not monitored.”
To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
