‘Twitter cop’ connects with the community
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
Anyone that has visited the 19th
Precinct’s Twitter feed knows
that it is something special.
Run-of-the-mill photos of award
ceremonies, community meetings and
offi cer retirement announcements are
made more lively with snappy headlines
and puns. The feed is peppered
with funny snapshots staged by offi cers
or offi cer selfi es with community members.
“It humanizes the badge,” said Offi -
cer Anthony Nuccio, the digital communications
offi cer responsible for managing
the Upper East Side precinct’s
Twitter and Facebook pages. The social
voice of the precinct is really his.
According to Nuccio, the purpose
of the precinct’s social-media accounts
is twofold. They are meant to provide
the public with pertinent information
about crime and safety in their community,
plus to improve the relationship
between civilians and offi cers.
“A lot of times people don’t think of
us as police offi cers — they think of us
as robots,” Nuccio said.
He admits that when he fi rst joined
the force, his idea of a proper offi cer
fell along these lines.
But the police are far from cyborgs,
as sometimes can be seen, for example,
in some little errors that occur when
placing crime-related information up
on social media. On March 5, the 19th
Precinct posted a wanted sign for a
young man who allegedly stole $7,047
worth of beer from a 7-Eleven store at
1453 Third Ave., at 82nd St.
It seemed like an impossibly huge
brew burglary. In fact, it was. The
Deputy Commissioner of Public
Information — the Police Department’s
press offi ce —
subsequently notifi ed the
precinct that there was
a typo, since the “Beer
Bandit” — as the precinct
dubbed him on
social media — had
only really taken
$70.47 worth of
alcohol.
“I was very rigid,”
Offi cer Nuccio
refl ected about
when he was fi rst
approached being
a digital communications
offi cer, or
“D.C.O.” “I was a little
bit more reserved.”
But as he spent more
time engaging with the
community online, he loosened
up
and started
to think
m o r e
creat ively
about how
to better
serve it via
his new role.
According
to a 2018 Gallup
poll, only 54 percent
of Americans
trust the police either
a “great deal or quite a
lot.” That’s actually an increase
from years prior.
Nuccio can attest to the increase in
community
trust in offi -
cers since he began
working at the 19th in 2014.
In his view, there has been a visible increase
in the number of people that feel
more comfortable reporting crimes, for
example.
The improved relationship can also
be attributed to the fact that Nuccio
himself responds to every single direct
message sent to the precinct’s Twitter
account. And although the social-media
accounts are not monitored 24 hours a
day, Offi cer Nuccio said he frequently
checks them during his off hours at
home. He views every complaint as a
new challenge and a new way to learn
about the community needs.
“We aren’t just there when you call
911,” he said. “We are always there.”
COURTESY 19TH PRECINCT
Officer Anthony Nuccio is on the
“tweet beat” at the 19th Precinct.
COURTESY 19TH PRECINCT
An April Fool’s photo Officer
Nuccio posted on the precinct’s
social media.
Schneps Media MEX April 4 - April 17, 2019 3