The Washington County Sheriff's Office has made its debut on YouTube with an action-packed video. And it's getting attention.
From the agency's response to the 2008 Hugo tornado to a K-9 named Dozer, who died after collapsing on duty, the 18-minute video gives a peek inside the Sheriff's Office, its employees and their duties.
Take a virtual tour of the state-of-the-art technology at the communications center or check out the county jail. Or see scenes from SWAT and K-9 training. There are shots of sheriff's divers, officers paying tribute to fallen comrades and jailers who have their own version of an emergency response team.
The YouTube video is one of the newest ways that law enforcers nationwide are turning to social media for crime-fighting and strengthening police-community relations.
From Stillwater, Minn., to Richmond, Va., law enforcement agencies are using social media not only to communicate in real time about crimes but also for "the ability and the power to tell their own stories," according to an article this month in Police Chief magazine, published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
In Stillwater, the Washington County Sheriff's Office has been on Facebook for about two years, but this month it posted for the first time a video about the department on Facebook and YouTube, said Patrol Cmdr. Cheri Dexter.
"I like using the social media because that's where people are at; that's where they're paying attention," Dexter said.
Deputy Nick Sullivan spent more than four months making the video, mostly during quiet times between patrolling the Lower St. Croix Valley.