Savannah Police Dept. to post crime reports on social media

SAVANNAH, Tenn. — A local police department is working to be more transparent by turning to social media.

“There’s an old adage, what people don’t know, they’ll assume or make up. So we don’t want people getting a false message,” Savannah Police Chief Michael Pitts said. “We want people hearing it straight from the horse. We have nothing to hide.”

So, the Savannah Police Department has started posting a weekly crime report to their Facebook page, Savannah Police Department – Tennessee.

“You hear a lot of things, like crime is really bad in Savannah, but we want to see statistics to back it up,” Chief Pitts said.

He says crime has not actually gone up in Savannah. Pitts says the Criminal Investigations Division has been looking at the statistics.

“That hasn’t changed, it’s really just now in how we’re reporting it to the public,” Pitts said.

The Savannah Police Department hopes by showing the records from each week, they’re able to solve more crimes in the area.

“These are the people that are living in their communities. They know what’s going on,” Pitts said.

He says the casual atmosphere of social media may encourage people to share information.

“We want to get the community talking to the police. We want the police talking to the community,” Pitts said.

But ultimately, he hopes the interaction makes Savannah a better place for residents.

“If it can stop violent crime, that’s great, but if it can stop property crime, we want it to stop all the various facets that are being committed as well,” Chief Pitts said.

And he hopes it turns into a worse place for criminals.

“We intend to make it where criminals are uncomfortable committing crime in Savannah,” he said.

The Savannah Police Department started posting the weekly crime reports Tuesday, but they hope to grow the program in coming months.