Thursday, April 18, 2024
The first Facebook post by the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office during their 9 p.m. routine campaign.
On Sept. 7, the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office began a #9PMRoutine campaign on Facebook to share daily reminders and best safety practices with residents.
“The #9PM routine is a nightly reminder to residents to remove valuables from their vehicles, lock their vehicle doors, lock the doors to their residences, turn on exterior lights and activate all alarms and security systems,” the Facebook post said.
The first post said the Sheriff’s Office will send out a nightly reminder at 9 p.m. to lock up and asked residents to set a reminder on their smart phone to do the same.
“Criminals look for easy targets. You can make it more difficult for them by following the #9PMRoutine! Many vehicle burglaries, and to a lesser degree, stolen vehicles, occur as a result of vehicles being left unlocked,” the Facebook post said. “Criminals walk through neighborhoods, trying vehicle door handles, hoping to find an unlocked vehicle. The best way to prevent vehicle burglaries is to remove all of your valuables, lock your vehicle’s doors upon exiting and take the keys to the vehicle inside your residence.”
The 9 p.m. routine began in August of 2016 in the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, according to the Tampa Bay Times. They began posting nightly reminders on Facebook and Twitter with the goal of cutting down easily preventable burglaries.
The first posts in Pasco started with only 5,000 to 10,000 impressions, but grew to 90,000 in the first year, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The effort not only got more people to lock their doors, but also brought more people to the Sheriff’s Office social media accounts. This is helpful when the Sheriff’s Office needs to get information to the community about anything from a dangerous criminal to a natural disaster.
What started out as a local effort to reach residents became a hit nationwide. As the hashtag began to trend, more Sheriff’s Offices and local law enforcement followed along.
Law enforcement offices across the country have gotten creative with how they present the public service announcement. Some have created videos showing what the 9 p.m. routine looks like. Others include photos or videos of their officers or service animals. Memes, GIFs and jokes have also accompanied the posts.
