LAwS Communications Announces ConnectedCOPS Awards Winners

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Award Winners came from around the world. Photo credit: Dale Stockton, Senior Editor, LawOfficer.com

The ConnectedCOPS Awards were designed to honor and acknowledge the law enforcement professionals who are the visionaries in using open source technology.

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) September 11, 2012

LAwS Communications announced today winners of the ConnectedCOPS™ Awards, a new awards program for law enforcement using social media. The ConnectedCOPS Awards were created with the intent of recognizing the great work being done with social media in six categories, by individual sworn officers and law enforcement agencies. Eighty-three nominations from eight countries were received and narrowed down to six sets of finalists from six countries.

“The ConnectedCOPS Awards were designed to honor and acknowledge the law enforcement professionals who are the visionaries in using open source technology,” said Lauri Stevens of LAwS Communications. “Some of what’s happening with social media is not just innovative but truly revolutionary. These are the men, women and agencies who work day in and day out to give their communities fantastic police service and who are profoundly changing their profession.”

The ConnectedCOPS Awards winners are:

Social Media Incident Management Award (Individual or Agency) (Sponsored by Nixle)
Queensland Police Service, Australia

Social Media Investigator Award (Individual) (Sponsored by LexisNexis)
Detective Ian Barraclough, Vancouver Police

Award of Excellence at a Large Agency
New South Wales Police, Australia

Award of Excellence at a Small Agency
Redwood City Police, California

Top Cop Award (Individual)
Gordon Scobbie, Deputy Chief Constable, Tayside, Scotland

Leadership Award (Individual)
Constable Scott Mills, Toronto Police, Canada

The first annual ConnectedCOPS Awards were presented at the sixth Social Media the Internet and Law Enforcement (SMILE) Conference today in Richmond, Va. where the winners were honored and their achievement recognized. The SMILE Conference brings together one of the largest assemblages of law enforcement professionals from around the world to address the topics of social media strategy, reputation management, policy and other issues pertaining to community outreach.

The SMILE Conference has also announced a new mobile application for iPhone, Android and Windows phones that allows users to follow the conference from wherever they are. To download the application, please visit http://www.eventboardmobile.com/download.html. For more information on The SMILE Conference, please visit http://www.TheSMILEConference.com.

The international panel of judges who evaluated the nominations consisted of:

Sponsor Representatives
Nixle – Travis Scott, Vice President
LexisNexis – Susan Crandall, Marketing Lead, Law Enforcement

International Media Partners
The Social Media Monthly – Bob Fine, Publisher
PoliceProfessional.com – Paul Lander, Editor in Chief
PoliceOne.com – Doug Wylie, Editor in Chief
LawOfficer.com – Dale Stockton, Senior Editor
Public Communications Worldwide – Susan van Barneveld, CEO

International Support Partners
Crime Stoppers International – Michael Gordon Gibson, President
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) – Gordon Scobbie, National Social Media Lead, UK
Police Futurists International – Joe Grebmeier, Board Member
GovDelivery and GovLoop – Joe Porcelli, Director, Engagement Services

For award criteria, rules and judging information see http://www.ConnectedCOPS.net/ConnectedCOPSAwards.

About LAwS Communications
LAwS Communications has been providing interactive media advice to law enforcement since 2005. Open Source communication technologies available today allow organizations to efficiently gather and distribute information like never before. LAwS Communications works with law enforcement professionals to help make sense of the tools available, help agencies craft a plan and social media policy as well as provide the training needed. LAwS Communications can help law enforcement organizations not only understand why an agency should take advantage of social media technologies, but also how to leverage these vast resources. LAwS Communications is located in Newbury, Massachusetts. It is a subsidiary of Stevens & Associates Inc.

For more information, please visit http://lawscommunications.com.

Note to editor: Expanded photo caption: L to R – Scott Mills, Toronto, Canada PD, Josh Maxwell, New South Wales Police Force, Australia, Gordon Scobbie, Tayside, Scotland, Sgt. Rhonda Lepelt, Officer Chris Rasmussen and Captain Chris Cesena from Redwood PD, Calif., and Det. Ian Barraclough, Vancouver, Canada. Not pictured: Kym Charlton, Queensland Police Service.

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