Police St. Paul police-scanner Facebook group aims for safety — but is it changing crime perceptions?

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https://www.twincities.com/2018/05/26/st-paul-police-scanner-facebook-group-aims-for-safety-but-is-it-changing-crime-perceptions/

 

When Nancy Hochschild heard the sound of a package sliding across concrete last year, she thought FedEx was delivering to her St. Paul home. It was the opposite.

 

She looked out a window to see a man stealing a just-delivered box from her door step.

 

Hochschild grabbed her cellphone and quickly snapped photos of the thief as he left. She then posted them to every neighborhood St. Paul Facebook group she could think of. The man was eventually caught.

 

The experience made Hochschild consider: What if there was a central Facebook page where people in St. Paul could share information about crime?

 

Hochschild, who grew up listening to the police scanner, created the Saint Paul Police and Fire Calls Followers group on Facebook one year ago. She and others post, in real time, what they’re hearing on the scanner.

 

Following calls on the police scanner has long been a hobby for some. Using social media to share what they hear has become more common in recent years. And experts wonder if that changes people’s perception about crime in their communities.

 

Police Clips, which posts highlights of Minnesota police scanner conversations and audio clips, started as a website in 2009 or 2010. Its Facebook page has nearly 185,000 followers. There are other local Facebook pages dedicated to scanner dispatches, but Hochschild’s is the first in St. Paul.

 

Hochschild never expected the group to get so big: There are more than 11,000 members.

 

One of Hochschild’s goals is to make other community members aware of the day-in, day-out calls that officers respond to — things that never make the news — and to show how busy officers are. She doesn’t want to scare people, but rather to empower them with information.

 

St. Paul police-scanner Facebook group aims for safety — but is it changing crime perceptions?

 

Nancy Hochschild listens to a police scanner through an app on her cellphone at a friend’s home in St. Paul during a interview on Wednesday, May 25, 2017. Hochschild’s family listened to a police scanner while growing up in St. Paul. Last summer she started a Facebook page to post what she and others were hearing on the scanner in real-time. The St. Paul Police and Fire Call Followers page now has more than 10,000 followers. (Ginger Pinson / Pioneer Press)

 

When Nancy Hochschild heard the sound of a package sliding across concrete last year, she thought FedEx was delivering to her St. Paul home. It was the opposite.

 

She looked out a window to see a man stealing a just-delivered box from her door step.

 

Hochschild grabbed her cellphone and quickly snapped photos of the thief as he left. She then posted them to every neighborhood St. Paul Facebook group she could think of. The man was eventually caught.

 

The experience made Hochschild consider: What if there was a central Facebook page where people in St. Paul could share information about crime?

 

Hochschild, who grew up listening to the police scanner, created the Saint Paul Police and Fire Calls Followers group on Facebook one year ago. She and others post, in real time, what they’re hearing on the scanner.

 

Following calls on the police scanner has long been a hobby for some. Using social media to share what they hear has become more common in recent years. And experts wonder if that changes people’s perception about crime in their communities.

 

Police Clips, which posts highlights of Minnesota police scanner conversations and audio clips, started as a website in 2009 or 2010. Its Facebook page has nearly 185,000 followers. There are other local Facebook pages dedicated to scanner dispatches, but Hochschild’s is the first in St. Paul.

 

Hochschild never expected the group to get so big: There are more than 11,000 members.

 

One of Hochschild’s goals is to make other community members aware of the day-in, day-out calls that officers respond to — things that never make the news — and to show how busy officers are. She doesn’t want to scare people, but rather to empower them with information.

 

St. Paul police have “an outstanding working relationship” with people taking part on the Facebook page, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a department spokesman.

 

“We have found them to be passionate about the safety and vibrancy of St. Paul,” he said. “It’s turning into civic-minded projects that can make an area safer for everyone and making people aware of hazards in a certain area so they stay safe.”

 

St. Paul police-scanner Facebook group aims for safety — but is it changing crime perceptions?

 

Nancy Hochschild listens to a police scanner through an app on her cellphone at a friend’s home in St. Paul during a interview on Wednesday, May 25, 2017. Hochschild’s family listened to a police scanner while growing up in St. Paul. Last summer she started a Facebook page to post what she and others were hearing on the scanner in real-time. The St. Paul Police and Fire Call Followers page now has more than 10,000 followers.

 

When Nancy Hochschild heard the sound of a package sliding across concrete last year, she thought FedEx was delivering to her St. Paul home. It was the opposite.

 

She looked out a window to see a man stealing a just-delivered box from her door step.

 

Hochschild grabbed her cellphone and quickly snapped photos of the thief as he left. She then posted them to every neighborhood St. Paul Facebook group she could think of. The man was eventually caught.

 

The experience made Hochschild consider: What if there was a central Facebook page where people in St. Paul could share information about crime?

 

Hochschild, who grew up listening to the police scanner, created the Saint Paul Police and Fire Calls Followers group on Facebook one year ago. She and others post, in real time, what they’re hearing on the scanner.

 

Following calls on the police scanner has long been a hobby for some. Using social media to share what they hear has become more common in recent years. And experts wonder if that changes people’s perception about crime in their communities.

 

Police Clips, which posts highlights of Minnesota police scanner conversations and audio clips, started as a website in 2009 or 2010. Its Facebook page has nearly 185,000 followers. There are other local Facebook pages dedicated to scanner dispatches, but Hochschild’s is the first in St. Paul.

 

Hochschild never expected the group to get so big: There are more than 11,000 members.

 

One of Hochschild’s goals is to make other community members aware of the day-in, day-out calls that officers respond to — things that never make the news — and to show how busy officers are. She doesn’t want to scare people, but rather to empower them with information.

 

St. Paul police have “an outstanding working relationship” with people taking part on the Facebook page, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a department spokesman.

 

“We have found them to be passionate about the safety and vibrancy of St. Paul,” he said. “It’s turning into civic-minded projects that can make an area safer for everyone and making people aware of hazards in a certain area so they stay safe.”

 

DO POSTS IMPACT PERCEPTION?

 

Does the shift from people listening to police scanners in their living rooms to posting about it on social media change community members’ perceptions of crime? Jonathan Intravia, an assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology at Ball State University in Indiana, says he thinks it “absolutely can.”

 

Intravia is the lead researcher of a study that found overall social media consumption — not specific to crime-related information — was found to be linked to increased levels of fear.

 

“One thing about social media, compared with watching or reading the news, is the engagement factor, such as sharing or commenting on posts,” he said. “If someone is worried about crime and they’re commenting about it, that may transpire to other people worrying about crime.”

 

Crime reports were up in St. Paul last year, compared with the three years prior, though the violent crime rate is down significantly from 20 years ago. But reports of shots-fired are much higher than they were in the 1990s and gunfire is a frequent topic on the St. Paul Facebook page.

 

Hochschild said people who are drawn to the page are frustrated and looking for solutions, and she wants to help them feel safe again. She posts information about meetings with police so people can get more involved in their communities. She also includes safety tips.

 

RACE AS A HOT-BUTTON ISSUE

 

When Hochschild began the page, she anticipated race would be a hot-button issue. But just how “big the racial divide is” surprised her.

 

People who post what they’re hearing on the scanner include what a dispatcher says about a suspect’s description, including race.

 

Joanne Hodgeman, who said she was a member of the group for one day, said the page “makes general community members more fearful of other community members.”

 

“If the primary narrative is that it’s a black male committing a crime, then they’re going to be afraid of every black male that walks past them,” said Hodgeman, who lives in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood. “It’s the same stereotype that people have been trying to combat for many, many years.”

 

That is why, Hodgeman said, she and some others on the Facebook page tried last year to “combat the narrative about always needing to add race to the description because it’s harmful.”

 

Hochschild then wrote a reminder to those who post on the page to include whatever they hear on the scanner about “hair length, hair color, hair style, skin color, clothing, shoes, accessories, weapons, vehicles … etc.”

 

Victoria Kane, who participates in the Facebook group, said posting about a suspect’s description is “factual information” that needs to be included because it can help catch someone who has a committed a crime.

 

“I think the most information that can get out is important,” said Kane, who lives in the Como neighborhood.

 

GROUP INTENDED TO BE COMMUNITY SERVICE

 

Hochschild, who grew up in the Midway area and now lives in the Como neighborhood, started listening to the police scanner with her grandfather when she was a child. With a laugh, she recalls how her husband gave her a scanner as a wedding gift. She now listens on Broadcastify, a free scanner website and cellphone app.

 

Her grandfather Jerry Krieger taught Hochschild the value of community service. He was involved in the Como Community Council for 50 years and fought to get the North Dale Recreation Center built, she said.

 

“He instilled in us that our community matters and if you don’t like what you’re seeing, you go to the meetings, you say something, you do something,” said Hochschild, 39, who was previously a youth minister. She now works from home and is the mother of two.

 

Hochschild has been an active Facebook user in various St. Paul neighborhood groups. She noticed people frequently posted questions like, “Why are police on my street?” or “Did anyone else just hear shots?”

 

She wanted to be able to answer those questions in her Facebook group and tell people when serious situations are happening.

 

Last Sunday, Hochschild posted, “STAY IN YOUR HOME,” when officers were called about 8:45 p.m. to the 1700 block of Thomas Avenue on a report of a male with a gun. Hochschild said she was worried about people in the residential neighborhood who were likely to be spending time outside at that time of day.

 

Police said they did not find a gunman.

 

People on the Facebook page usually don’t know the outcome of such calls, unless it’s a big enough incident that it becomes a news story.

 

Hochschild encourages anyone to post to the St. Paul page if they’re listening to the police scanner, witnessed a crime, need to get out the word about a missing child or want help finding a stolen vehicle.

 

People post about all kinds of police calls — a bleeding woman who just ran into a store, a pedestrian struck by a light-rail train, someone fighting with police.

 

MAINTAINING CIVILITY

 

With more and more people joining the St. Paul Facebook group, people bring their many opinions.

 

The word “thug” comes up regularly and, if there’s a report of juveniles in trouble, people ask, “Where are their parents?” A recent post about 10 people fighting in the street led someone to comment, “Get a (expletive) job you rats!!!!”

 

 

 

Hochschild said she and Carole Hartman, who administers the page with her, work hard to keep the page civil and focused on its initial mission.

 

“Our message is about staying safe,” Hochschild said. “We want people to know, ‘This is your neighborhood … and if there’s something going on, you can be aware.’ “