In our new feature, we go around the world to explore the wide world of communications and international correspondents provide their take on local issues. Each month we’ll bring you one highlighted story, with more from global communications on Communicate’s iPad edition.

Our correspondent, Michelle Macias, head of communications for Stone Cha & Dean LLP, examines what California’s police agencies had to say in March’s Global Tweet-a-Thon.

For the United States public in general and for California residents in particular, law enforcement agencies are often feared and, at times, avoided. In recent months, the strife between police and the public has escalated to increased protests, violence and overall distrust. A new online effort to connect law enforcement with the public is playing an early role in changing that.

On 22 March LAwS Communications, a communications consultancy for law enforcement agencies, launched the Global Police Tweet-a-Thon. For 24 hours from 22 March at 8am, participating police agencies were encouraged to tweet locally with the hashtag #poltwt to give their communities a glimpse of the daily lives of police officer. About 250 police agencies participated, from California to the UK’s West Midlands to New Zealand.

The response was more than one participating agency had expected. The Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department received solid leads regarding a 1980 missing person’s case after posting a sketch with the tweet “OKLAHOMA: Do you know who this unidentified deceased woman is?” Countless other leads resulted from the Tweet-a-Thon.

Tweets revealed an inside look at law enforcement as policemen and women shared their individual and agency personalities with local citizens. They provided informational updates on weather warnings and road closures alongside photos of their favorite lunchtime hangouts. Cute police dog puppies ran alongside burglary reports and, of course, donuts. Photos – from agency headquarters to shots of routine patrols to an early morning accident of a taxicab crashing into a brick building – proliferated in the Tweet-a-Thon. The Manchester police shared one of its earliest photos, an 1840 portrait of several officers.

Squeezed budgets worldwide and the movement of communications onto digital platforms has reached even law enforcement agencies. By engaging in public communications through Twitter, police can reach their target audience with both informational and interesting, relevant tweets. Police agencies worldwide have taken to engaging in localised tweeting.

“We’re definitely using it as a tool because of our limited resources. We have to have that communication link between the police department and the community,” Stockton police officer Joseph Silva told the local Fox affiliate.

During the Tweet-a-Thon, countless more were encouraged to enhance the transparency and accountability of their communications. The Mountain View police in Mountain View, CA have a dedicated social media officer and the Stockton police department used the day as an opportunity for community outreach. LAwS’ Global Tweet- a-Thon has given global law enforcement officials a unique opportunity to enhance their communications efforts with the public.

Police tweeting will undoubtedly spread to agencies that have not yet embraced this interactive platform. On the anniversary of Twitter’s seventh birthday, there is hope that connecting the public with the police will decrease confrontation and increase communication.

LAwS also hosts the Social Media the Internet and Law Enforcement (SMILE) Conference which is held about 3 times per year and focuses on informing law enforcement on integrating social media to their day-to-day operations.