The nation's largest police department is sending its top brass to an in-house "Twitter school" as part of an effort to soften the NYPD's image and engage with the people they serve.
Every precinct and some special commands have a twitter account. 101 in total.
They're encouraged to send out helpful, pithy messages, and respond directly to the communities they serve.
Here's a link to the main account.
Commissioner Bill Bratton is trying to rebrand the department to counter criticism that it steps on people's civil rights. The public relations unit also developed a blog and a podcast that highlights departmental units.
Bratton himself has nearly 22 thousand twitter followers.
