Bay of Plenty Police is merging its two Facebook pages in a move to maintain the best possible communication with its audience.

Next week the Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty Facebook pages will merge to form one Bay of Plenty Police Facebook page.

Bay of Plenty Police Facebook page.

The Tauhara Paetiki Facebook page in Taupo is the only page that will remain independent of the district pages, as this is operated by the Neighbourhood Policing Team with a specific neighbourhood focus.

The @BOPPolice Twitter account will also remain active.

'The more successful it becomes, the more resource intensive it becomes and we know the public want our staff out in our communities and not in offices on computers,” says Prevention Manager, Inspector Scott Fraser.

'To ensure the best possible communication and a quality product using the least resources, we believe it is better to operate one Facebook page from one central location.”

Social media is proving a an excellent tool for police with an increasingly interactive audience and good successes in identifying and locating criminals, reuniting stolen property and circulating public safety messages, says Scott.

'To those who follow us it is little more than a name change. They will continue to see local news and local appeals for help just as they do now.

'They will also get to see what is happening in neighbouring communities. We know that criminals are transient and we believe the changes will enable our loyal followers to assist us with cross-border crime appeals; helping us in our efforts to reduce crime and the number of victims across the District, not just in their own communities.” Scott says it also means those areas not currently operating a Facebook page, such as Western Bay of Plenty and the wider Taupo area have an opportunity to experience the benefits of social media.

Messages will be posted on the Rotorua and Eastern Bay of Plenty Facebook pages in the coming days, encouraging current followers of those pages to switch to the BOP page ahead before they merge.

'We hope our followers stick with us and continue to support this valuable forum. We also welcome new followers and feedback about the Facebook page so that we can look for ways to improve it even further.”

The transition to the www.facebook.com/BOPPolice begins today with the intention of closing down the Rotorua and EBOP pages on December 5.