The Auburn Hills Police Department has begun using social media to reach out to the community with a variety of topics from local events to crime alerts.

The Auburn Hills police department now uses Facebook, Twitter and Nixle, a publishing system used by police departments and other municipal offices, as a way to release news and alerts to the local

community about the Auburn Hills area.

“As far as Facebook, we kind of have a schedule we follow Monday through

Friday,” said Officer Jeremy Stubbs of the AHPD. “Each day we gear at different topics.”

Mondays, the department focuses in on crime watches and keeps the community up to date on crimes solved. On Tuesdays, they release general information about the department, such as employee profiles.

Wednesdays are dedicated to news about community events, such as the fire departments hunger drive last weekend and on Thursdays the department gives out safety tips about things such as traffic laws and credit cards.

“We do go outside (of those areas) if we have something coming up like a road closure, or something going on, maybe we’ll post it on Monday along with what we normally do,” Stubbs said.

The police department has already taken to their Facebook page to post community events, wanted subjects on outstanding warrants, safe driving tips and department personnel profiles.

“Officer Stubbs is the point person,” Lieutenant Thomas Hardesty of the AHPD said. “He is the one doing most of the updating, staying up with it all the time.”

With Nixle, locals can register for the program free of charge and sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mails from local police departments. Users can personalize an account and follow local agencies and police departments throughout the state.

The police department said it is always trying to find new ways to connect with the community.

“A lot of people are on Facebook and Twitter, so it is a way to reach out,”  Stubbs said. “I checked this morning and we’re around 136 or 137 people. My goal is to get a lot more than we have now, so it’s just about coming up with ways to promote and get it out there.”

The AHPD has had a Facebook page for over a year now, but it wasn’t up to date until recently. Officer Stubbs took control over the social media aspect of the department and has been working with it since early

August.

“As far as the crime stuff goes, it’s too early to tell if it’s been successful,” Stubbs said.

The department has also put traffic laws up on their pages that may not be known by everyone. They have received a lot of positive feedback since beginning the program, especially surrounding some of these unknown traffic laws.

“If we can reach a few hundred people with each one, then we’re getting somewhere,” Hardesty said.

The Oakland University Police Department and AHPD work closely together to ensure the safety of students and residents of the area.

Earlier this month, OUPD teamed up with the AHPD to conduct S.A.F.E. Streets Program on local streets near campus. So far, the program has contributed to a 20 percent reduction in crashes in the area.