Had you heard how the police are reaching out to youngsters via Instagram?

No. Me neither, at least not until a little while ago when I ran into a couple of the people involved in running a dedicated channel on it. One is with the Met although his background is in documentary making and broadcast media, the other is with the College of Policing.  Together they work for “National Policing” within the digital public contact team.

I won’t try to explain the complex relationships which underpin the different bits of the UK policing infrastructure. It might bring on a migraine. For you and me. If you want to know more you could do worse than look here.

In this context, just focus on the end result, the channel itself.  The Instagram handle is @yourpolice.uk within the app.

Instagram is hugely popular with teens and young people. It is a highly visual medium, not one that is overburdened with text. Design and presentation are therefore everything and it seems to me @yourpolice.uk is bang on with its eye-and-attention-grabbing graphics. I was really impressed.

The usual stuff is on there about online safety and the like but there’s also much, much more e.g. on stop and search, drugs, vapes, e-scooters. I loved the bit on drones.

Actually, the channel should appeal to a very broad audience, not just young people. The simple language of the messaging, combined with the imaginative use of images work brilliantly. I hope someone finds a budget to promote it more widely. It deserves to be.

It kind of ought to be, or has the potential to be, the “go to” place for info on all sorts of everyday stuff . You don’t need a law degree  or a spare hour to get the essentials, even if the essentials you do get only alert you to the need to check things out further.

There must be a way of allowing each local police force or specialist unit in UK policing to access the very obvious talent and brains that have put this Instagram channel together.

In the digital world we all now inhabit,  “look and feel” are massively important. I doubt every police force or specialist unit will have the resources to match what @yourpolice.uk is already doing so well. Nor should they have to or want to. There has to be a way of integrating connections to local resources and information where that is likely to be relevant. If there isn’t there should be.

I know all age groups are important but finding modern/contemporary ways for law enforcement to connect with young people has to be right up there as a national priority and in that regard @ yourpolice.uk gets ten-out-of-ten.