@MountainViewPD Top in its Twitter Class

For a department with 50 to 99 sworn officers the Mountain View Police continues to have the highest number of Twitter followers, a national ranking reports. 

"Our focus on listening and engaging with our community via social media has helped us get to No. 1," said Lt. Chris Hsiung who manages the account.  "We're very thankful for the community we serve and for their part in putting us in that spot."

The International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) updated its list of top law enforcement agencies on social media. The IACP aims to inform and help these agencies build and use these Web 2.0 tools in crime prevention, community relations and enhanced operations.

At the time the IACP published its list on July 3, 2013 the MVPD had 6,708 followers compared to 6,240 for the No. 2 on the list Billerica Police Department in Massachusetts. Similarly sized San Rafael, CA remained flat  at No. 9 with 4,090. As of the publication of this Patch article, the MVPD had already amassed 6,776.

The MVPD has a multi-faceted social media approach.

Newcomers to the top ten, the Palo Alto Police had 3,897.

"We're happy to see @PaloAltoPolice join us on the Top 10 list too," Hsiung said.