The Osnabrück Police Department and its subordinate departments are withdrawing from the X platform and will use WhatsApp in the future. (Archive photo) Monika Skolimowska/dpa
The Osnabrück Police Department, whose catchment area extends from the Osnabrück region through Emsland to East Frisia, will no longer distribute news via the X platform – formerly Twitter. All accounts of the associated police departments will be deleted, the police department announced. Instead, the police in the region want to reach citizens via their WhatsApp channel and inform them about operations. According to its own information, the Osnabrück Police Department is the first police authority to leave X.
Osnabrück Police Chief Michael Maßmann said he no longer saw the added value for the police in transmitting information about operations via X. The authority wanted to break new ground in crisis communication. “We hope that the change will give us an even greater reach and many different and well-informed users,” he explained.
The accounts of the police stations in Osnabrück, Emsland/Grafschaft Bentheim, Leer/Emden and Aurich/Wittmund are affected by the exit from X. Up to now, current reports on demonstrations, events and other large-scale operations have been communicated via these.
Police on Whatsapp from September
From September 1st, the inspections will each have their own WhatsApp channel. The police authorities also use the platforms Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
According to the Interior Ministry, no other police authorities in Lower Saxony are currently known to want to withdraw from Platform X. The authorities therefore decide on their own authority which social media platform approved by the Interior Ministry they will use for their public relations work.
“In our opinion, the direct and targeted control of information via X still offers a certain added value for the police’s external communication and a good opportunity to reach the target group represented there,” it said.
