Virtual ride-alongs help New Ulm Police build connections

NEW ULM — Police officer Eric Gramentz opened his latest virtual ride-along with a groan-inducing joke courtesy of his youngest daughter.

"What did the police officer say to his belly button? You're under a vest."

There wasn't much excitement in New Ulm Tuesday afternoon and evening to post about on the department's Facebook page. Gramentz posted about a few traffic stops, traffic control as students departed school, a restraining order violation report, a phone harassment complaint and a few other items.

Some posts were a bit vague, such as one described simply as a "disturbance," to protect the privacy of the people involved.

Almost all of the posts garnered responses from the public, many of them thank yous for taking them along for a virtual ride.

Several posts resulted in a digital dialogue between Gramentz and citizens, such as a conversation that determined a found bicycle wasn't the same one a Facebook follower had recently reported stolen.

Every month or so Gramentz or officer Sara Schlingmann host a ride-along to give the public a taste of their jobs. It's part of their new-found objective of using social media to better connect with the citizens they serve.

"We're trying to build community. We're trying to show that we're approachable and we're here to help," Gramentz said.

"It's helping build relationships and open new doors in the community," Schlingmann said.

Many area law enforcement agencies have had Facebook pages much longer than New Ulm. The NUPD was sharing critical safety alerts on other city pages but didn't have a page of its own until less than a year ago. Gramentz and Schlingmann volunteered to launch and administer it and convinced their bosses it was worth the time investment.

Like many other area law enforcement agencies, the NUPD uses its page as a crime-fighting tool and to share crime alerts. It contains warnings about rashes of car break-ins with reminders to lock your vehicles, surveillance photos of shoplifters with requests to call police if you recognize the culprit, photos of stray pets who are looking for their owners, and "warrant Wednesdays" showing the mugshot of wanted criminals.

The NUPD officers also set out to make their page more interactive and lighthearted than most of the other pages.

"We try to keep a good balance between giving information and using humor to keep people engaged," Schlingmann said.

There are photos of officers' positive interactions with the community, including images of children trying on an officer's bullet-proof vest during a recent visit to a preschool class.

There are behind-the-scenes photos and videos of officers training, including a video of Booker, the department K9, leaping through an open car window and chomping down on the padded arm of a reserve officer who volunteered to help the dog practice his apprehension skills.

The virtual ride-alongs don't just summarize each call to which the officer responds. During a slow period during last month's ride-along, Gramentz posted a photo of an old milk dispensing machine he happened across.

"This is what makes patrol work fun, finding cool hidden things like this ... and singing along to Justin Bieber songs," he wrote. "For those under 40 years old that's a photo of a milk machine where we use to get things like milk, for those over 40 years old Justin Bieber is a famous singer."

In the comments section of many posts, officers respond promptly to citizen concerns, requests and questions. To an inquiry about what type of call do officers respond to most frequently, Schlingmann advised they most often respond to medical calls and provide first aid until the ambulance arrives. That prompted three posts from citizens thanking the department for responses to medical emergencies in their families.

NUPD rarely deletes citizen comments, the overseeing officers said, and only when they violate the department's social media policy. A list of prohibited types of comments, such as threats, vulgarities, advertisements and complaints about specific officers or residents, are listed on the page. The policy was developed from recommendations Gramentz and Schlingmann received in a class providing social media tips for law enforcement agencies, and other city departments are now using it as a model for their own pages.

When they launched the page, the overseeing officers set a goal of reaching 3,000 followers within a year. They've already surpassed 4,000 in a town of around 13,000.

Next on their to-do lists: starting a Twitter account, which they hope will help them reach more teenage and young adult residents, and training a few additional officers with a sense of humor to contribute to the department's pages.

"It's one example of how law enforcement needs to be constantly changing and adapting," Gramentz said of social media.

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