Public Information Officer Communication Plan COM/PA523

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COM/PA523

PublicInformationOfficerCommunicationPlan PhoenixUniversity

COM/PA523

PublicInformationOfficerCommunicationPlan WorkingasaPublicInformationOfficeriscomplexbecauseofthehelpingofchanges withincommunityopinionisdifficult.Havingthepublicunderstandmission,supportandvision, takesalotofeffortandinsight.Dependingonwhatyouaretryingtoaccomplish,therearemany resourcesthatcanbeutilizedsothatyourideasreachouttothepublic.Thisisveryhelpfulwhen tryingtogetthepublictoagreetoaddmoreofficerstothepoliceforce.Developingagood communicationplanisagreatwaytoputyourthoughtsalltogetheronpaper,andshowthings drawnouttothepeopleonyourteam.Outliningwhatvenuesofmediaorsocialmediawillbe utilized.Inaddition,italsoshowshowaddingextraofficerswouldbecriticalinkeepingthe publicsafer.Everyonethencanknowandunderstandthedifferentthingsthatneedtohappenin ordertoreachultimategoals,aswellaswhyitisbeingdone.Describethegenreofcommunicationyouwouldusesuchasapaperformat,socialmedia, publicannouncement,pressrelease,oratelevisedmediaconference.Whileweattempttoaddtwentyfiveofficerstothepoliceforce,allsocialmedia platformsandformsofmedianeedtobeutilized.Socialmedia,television,andspecificallythe news,areallveryeffectivemethodsofgettinginformationtothepublicthefastestbutthisalso

2 allowsawidespreaddeliverance.Whentryingtogetthepublictovoteforacertainthing,you musttrytoreachasmanypossiblevoters,socialmediacanplayamajorrole.Inthiscase, utilizingsocialmediaandthenewstobroadcasteveryincidentthatwentwronginaspecific timeframe,thatcouldhavegonesmootherifmoreofficerswereworkingatthatparticulartime.Thisiscriticalinthevotersunderstandingtheissueathand.Thisinstillsfear,butcanshowthat morepoliceareneeded.Itisimportanttofindthingsthatwillincreasetheeffectivenessof utilizingsocialmedia.Themediaoftenreliesonthenewstoinstillfear,sodecidingwhich storiestobroadcastisanecessity.Controllingwhatthevotersseeonthesevenuesisgoingtobe oneofthestrongesttoolsthatcanbeused.Alsoensuringallsourcesofsocialmediaareused increasespotentialcommunitymemberswhoviewit.Thelargenumbersthatsocialmedia allowsustoreachinjustoneviewing,isbeyondcompare.Ifincreasedsocialmedia,suchasFacebookandTwitter,requiredforthedepartmental growth.Onethingrequiredfordepartmentalgrowthisforthepublictoseethatthereisaneed, andhowaddingofficerswillfulfillthatneed.Forinstance,maybeabankrobberyhappenedona particularnight,butittookalongtimeforcopstorespondduetobeingunderstaffedorjust highlybusy.Thiswouldpromotetheneedformoreofficerswithinthecommunity.Itis importantthatthesesituationsbepublicizedsothecommunitywillunderstandtheimportanceof whatisbeingaskedofthem.“CommunityToolBox"(n.d.p.1),“Thegoal,inthiscase,istoraise awarenessaboutinitiative'slong-termbenefitstothecommunity.”.Emphasizingtheoverall protectionthatthecommunitywouldgainisessentialwhenaddingpoliceofficers.Peoplewill

3 notdenywantingtokeeptheirfamiliessafe.Bycontinuingtofocusonareasaroundschoolsand parks,itwilladdpressureforthecommunitytoraisetheirstandardsaroundsafety,especiallyin thoseareas.Kidsarealwaysanimportanttopicwhenitcomestosafety,soutilizingthemwhen tryingtoexpresstheneed,isagreatwaytogetthecommunitymembersonboard.Howfaraheadofthesepositionsbeinghiredwouldyourelaythemessage?Thisplancanbeimplementedimmediatelyandcanbechangedaswefindproblems,or findthingsthatneedtobetweakedtomeetthecommunity’sneeds.Themoretimeallowedthe betteropportunitytoshowthecommunityabouttheissue,andthesolutionthatwasfound.Oppositionishelpfulwhenitisminimal.Byutilizingtheoppositiontoproveyourpointtothe communityiseffective.Itistheextremelyvocaloppositionthatcanbeharmfultoyourgoal.Stayingconsistentwiththeactualdeficienciesintheagencyandhowaddingmorecopswillbe helpfulisimperativetotheoverallgoal.Peoplearealwaysgoingtodisagree,thatiswhy focusingonsafetywithinthecommunity,isthemainstrategy.Youarenotgoingtofindtoo manypeoplewhoopenlyadmitthatsafetyisnotaconcernforthem.Inthebeginningyouare justpublicizingthingsthathavehappenedtosetthetoneforthecommunitytoacceptthatthey mightneedmorepoliceontheforce.Ifyoudothisforasettimeofatleast6months,you actuallyhavetheabilitytolooklikeaherobythesuggestionofmakingthestreetssafer.Media andsocialmedia,unfortunatelyhavebeendecidingforyears,whatpeoplecareabout,by carefullydeterminingwhattheychoosetoair,whynotusethistoourbenefit?Whatdoyoudowithcitizenswhocommunicateanoppositiontothehiringof additionalofficerscausingextrataxes?Onboardingofthesenewpatrolofficerswillultimatelyrequirethereassignmentofsome

4 patrolareas.Areaswhereofficersarestationedandcrimesarestillhigh,orareaswhereofficers thatlackahigherworkethicareslacking,andcrimesareconstantlyreported.Thegoalisthat theaddition/placementofthesenewofficerswillreducethelevelsofcrimeinthesereported patrolareaswhereanofficerisalreadystationed.Althoughtheadditionoftheseofficersis proposedtocomedirectlyoutofthedepartment’sbudgetinitially,wecannotforeseewhether thisnewtaskforcewillaffectthetaxpayersfinanciallylaterdowntheline.Withsuch uncertainty,therewillbetaxpayersthatareopposedtothehiringofadditionalofficers.Unfortunately,whenthosetaxpayerscomeforth,theywillfeelthattheirvoicesweren’t consideredwhenmakingsuchamajordecision.Theiroppositiontogrowthcanweighdownon thehiringprocess.Taxpayersarethestakeholdersandholdalotofinfluenceoverthepublic.Withoutthepublicsupport,acertainlevelofresistancewillattackourdepartmentandweneed thischangetobeasmooth,welcomed,andpositiveone.Whenthattimecomes,wewillassure thetaxpayerswithcrimestatisticreportthattheirdollarsarenotgoingtowardsataskforcethat hasn’tbeenstrivingdiligentlytoensurethattheirstreetsaresafe,thatcrimeintheirareahas decreasedsubstantially,andthattheMPDpoliceforceissuccessfullyontheirwaytoupholdthe department’screedtoServeandProtect.Withproofandconstantreassurance,theacceptance processwillrapidlyenhanceallowingthenewchangestofreelydeveloptotheirentirepotential intheeyestaxpayers.Whoareyourstakeholdersinthispublicnotice?Thestakeholdersinthispublicnotice arethecommunitymembers,thedepartmentalstaff,interestedrecruits,thedepartment’sbudget advisoryboard,andtheMayoralongwithtrustedboards,commissions,andtaskforces.Whatarethedifferingconcernsofinternalcommunicationversusexternal communicationonthisissue?Howoftenwouldyoufollowuponthenotification?