LIVE LOG: Social media a force for the good in Sussex
LIVE LOG: Social media a force for the good in Sussex
11 August 2011
LATEST UPDATES:
Friday 12 August
6.10pm: That's it from us for now. Calls from people concerned about potential unrest are down from nearly 200 on Tuesday to nine yesterday and views of this website are down from a peak of around 25,000 to a more normal 2,500. We'll be on hand to resurrect the log if necessary over the weekend, but otherwise that's it for this week. Have a good weekend.
1.25pm: Here we are again and it's good news on the unrest front at last as the number of officers being deployed to London is being reduced, allowing us to look forward to enjoying Pride, Airbourne, Birdman and all the other fun events planned in Sussex for the weekend. We'll be maintaining our visibility - come and talk to us! As for the Live Log, we're planning to stand down the team by 6pm tonight, but rest assured we'll be on hand throughout the weekend if needed.
01:25am: We are signing off now from the live updates. Thank you once again for all your reassuring messages posted on social media. Media Relations will continue keeping the people of Sussex informed with relevant, accurate and up to date information regarding any disorder or any rumours of disorder in Sussex. Sleep tight.
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Thursday 11 August
11:45pm: Pleased to report that Sussex remains free of any disorder this evening and online tweets are becoming very quiet indeed. I suspect most of you are safely tucked up in bed by now! : )
9.35pm: Still looking good across Sussex. High-visibilty patrols out and about. And thanks again for the lovely messages coming into us via Twitter.
7.20pm: No incidents to report. Day team now handing over to evening shift (one person again!) who will keep you informed into the night.
6.10pm: We are monitoring for any issues of concern locally and are prepared should there be disorder. At the moment it is business as usual for Sussex Police, with some additional high-visibility patrols. Their presence will deter troublemakers and reassure people who may be concerned, but this doesn't mean we're expecting disorder where they're working.
2.10pm: We're not updating on such a frequent basis today, but if there's anything you need to know, we will be posting it here.
01.50am: There are no incidents of disorder in Sussex. Thank you for your continued messages of support via social media. The next update will be in office hours.
00.10am: There has been recent police activity in Littlehampton that has resulted in nothing to report. There are currently no issues or incidents in relation to disorder throughout the rest of Sussex. Continued thanks to the public for your ongoing support. Keep up-to-date by visiting us here at www.sussex.police.uk or by following Sussex Police on Twitter @sussex_police
Press release - 2pm
As a man appeared in court at Hastings this morning (Thursday) on a charge related to using Facebook to incite criminality, Sussex Police have hailed the postive aspects of social media in dealing with the prospects of unrest over the last couple of days.
Assistant Chief Constable Nick Wilkinson said: "While there has been a lot of focus on the negative aspects of the use of social media in other parts of the country, in Sussex we have seen how it can be a force for good.
"People are increasingly turning to police Twitter accounts for timely, accurate and honest information and we have seen followers across all our various accounts rise. We have been using Twitter to engage with people, to quickly dispel rumours and put people's minds at rest. I would particularly like to thank everyone who has helped us with this and also express our gratitude for the enormous number of messages of support and appreciation that we have received.
"Thankfully, we have not witnessed the sort of sad scenes that have occurred elsewhere in the country and I believe this is down to a widespread determination that ordinary, decent people in Sussex will not tolerate it. Indeed, the few minor instances that could possibly be linked to what has happened over the last couple of days have been nipped in the bud and I would encourage everyone to work with us in ensuring that it's business as usual."
Twitter followers have risen from around 19,000 to over 30,000 in less than a month, the majority of this rise coming in the last few days. Our main account @sussex_police has more than doubled in popularity, rising from just over 4,000 followers in mid-July to 9,599 at midnight last night.
Nathan Sinden, 27, from Blackman Avenue, St Leonards-on-Sea, appeared before Hastings Magistrates on Thursday morning (August 11), charged with intentionally encouraging/assisting the commission of an either way offence, namely burglary and criminal damage, and was remanded in custody to appear at Lewes Crown Court on September 9.
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Wednesday 10 August
11.25pm: British Transport Police (BTP) are currently dealing with a fatality at Southwick train station. This is not related to any disorder.
10.30pm: No further incidents. Very little talk online about any disorder. Thank you for positive feedback.
9.25pm: No incidents into the night. It's nice to see much lower levels of concern online now. Sussex people are pulling together and are really helping by not spreading rumours.
8.25pm: Last 'team' message made us sound rather grandly resourced in these times of austerity - in reality it's currently one (very hard working) person sourcing facts and sharing them.
8.15pm: Team updating logs about to change over. Watch this space for updates into the night. Nothing to add at the moment.
7.20pm: A little late on this hourly update, although BBC viewers in the South East Today region will have seen our feature on using Twitter and this website to keep calm and informed, so that may count! We'll post a link to this later when it goes on their website. Nothing new to report.
6.00pm: Still all quiet across Sussex. Two men have been arrested in Hastings by officers investigating reports of people inciting violence on social media websites. See here.
4.55pm: We've just updated our press release below with advice of what to do it you've heard rumours or if you have information we need to know about.
3.55pm: While rumours have significantly decreased today, we have been receiving lots of messages from people who have seen officers out in their area and are pleased to get extra information online. If you have seen something suspicious, do let us know on 0845 60 70 999.
3.08pm: Well, nearly every hour! We've been trawling the logs and it remains a quiet and sunny Sussex.
1.55pm We'll be updating this log every hour and you can keep in touch with us on Twitter - @sussex_police.
1.53pm: Good afternoon. We're back in action to report that it remains all quiet across Sussex this afternoon, unless you've been reading a local newspaper's online report that a car was 'torched' near the Amex stadium. They've calmed down a bit now and the revised report correctly points out that it was an electrical fault! Aside from this, thanks to the media generally for level-headed reporting of the situation in Sussex and to the many voices of reason who've been helping to quash the rumours on social media.