PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Starting Monday, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said it will disable comments on the department's social media platforms to ensure that tips are sent through the "proper channels."
The sheriff's office said over several months, members of the department noticed an increase in tips posted on social media.
"PSO has consistently provided information to our citizens on the proper ways to submit tips, including what phone numbers to call and online submission links," the sheriff's office said on Facebook. "As we continually note, our social media platforms are not constantly monitored 24 hours a day and as such, PSO personnel may not see the tip in the comments or messages until much later."
In a post on Monday, Sheriff Chris Nocco said the decision to disable comments was not made lightly. He said every second matters in an investigation and "each second that a tip is missed on social media can delay the process of safely recovering someone."
PSO said the change is to ensure that tips are sent through the proper channels from now on. The sheriff's office will continue to post information on cases and breaking news on social media and on news.pascosheriff.com.
In the comments on the post announcing the change, a majority of people said they didn't think the change would be beneficial. Many commented that they believed the change will result in fewer tips, believing that some people may be uncomfortable with the other channels to leave information.
The sheriff's office said these are the ways to report a crime or tip:
- For an emergency, call 911
- Call the non-emergency line at 727-847-8102; option 7
- Call the crime tips line at 1-800-706-2488
- On PSO's website, click on "Citizen Online Reporting"
- Online at PascoSheriff.com/Tips
