Camden went viral in 2020.
Videos of a protest against Black Lives Matter – where Camden County police marched alongside residents after the murder of George Floyd – received hundreds of thousands of views when the department and a city official posted them on Twitter and Facebook. Pop star Nick Jonas, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver and former President Barrack Obama praised the city’s unity.
But another positive viral moment wasn’t the impetus for the police’s new TikTok account.
“It was really good to hear people acknowledge what we did last year, but my idea of starting a TikTok had nothing to do with it,” said Police Chief Gabe Rodriguez. “This was about connecting.”
“When I took the big seat in January,” he continued referring to taking over the boss earlier this year, “I thought, ‘How do we connect with the future of Camden?'”
While police had positive content shared on Facebook and Instagram even before Floyd was murdered, Rodriguez thought TikTok – one of the most popular apps among teenagers – would be a unique opportunity. The video sharing app, which has created numerous dance challenges since its launch in 2016, allows users to share content from 15 seconds up to three minutes.
“I haven’t gotten a proper dance yet, but I’m working on it,” Rodriguez said with a laugh.
The TikTok site – the only law enforcement agency in New Jersey, as far as Rodriguez is known – has garnered nearly 21,000 followers, more than 803,000 likes, and over 3.9 million views since launching in March.
While it may be a first for the Garden State, the police presence on TikTok is not unknown. Philadelphia police officers drew attention to themselves on the platform in 2019. And a quick search for “#coptok” on TikTok will bring up a range of content from across the country.
Camden Police Department’s most popular TikTok to date, with 2.4 million views, features local activist Pamela Grayson-Baltimore interacting with a virtual de-escalation simulator that trains officers on how to avoid the use of force when responding to a scene.
“I had no idea the numbers were like this until someone pointed it out to me,” said Baltimore, known as “Ms. Pam ”in town. “At a time when young people are communicating on social media, you have to have something there. Something empowering that can educate people, but also shows another side of policing. “
Baltimore said her all-time favorite Camden police post includes a policewoman she calls the “TikTok officer” and two dance students from the Dare 2 Dance School showing off their moves.
The department also highlighted a gift event for a 4-year-old shooting survivor, the raising of the Pride Month flag, and a local reading program.
“We wear uniforms, but we are not robots,” said Rodriguez. “It’s about humanizing police officers. You can go to us and say, ‘I saw you in this video.’
Police stressed that the TikTok account is just one step of many that are being taken to supplement their police efforts in the community. Other aspects that play an important role include hiring more civil servants from the city, encouraging Hispanic and black officers to reflect local demographics, and increasing response times through new technology tools, according to Rodriguez.
On another coast, Sgt.Ariel Savage of the San Diego Police Department Media Service said the launch of your own TikTok account in October 2019 resulted in lessons being learned along the way.
“We learned to keep it very simple and not to get too much out of our wheelhouse,” said Savage, noting that the account has over 32,000 followers. “We look at what’s trending and see how we can create positive community-based (content).”
This content includes an officer racing against a resident, a look at the department’s shipping department, and funny vacation sketches. Savage said the department received a huge response on videos highlighting their K-9 units, dogs working alongside officers.
“Overall, the response was very positive, but we usually like them very well, obviously a lot of people love animals. In one case, a dog was unfortunately stabbed by a subject, so people loved watching the recovery, ”said Savage.
Rodriguez said he “strongly recommends” that other departments consider introducing TikTok accounts such as San Diego and Camden.
“It’s great for morale within the police force because many of our officers are young and have their own TikTok accounts and enjoy it,” he said. “And what better way to connect with young people than to invite them to a TikTok video with us?”
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Steven Rodas can be reached at [email protected].
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