Idaho Falls Police Department launches humorous PSAs
The Idaho Falls Police Department launched its “Cop2ition” public service announcements on YouTube Wednesday afternoon.
The campaign will feature IFPD officers Bart Whiting and Dustin Howell. The duo will offer advice and tips on safety and crime prevention in a funny format.
“This is just a different way for us to go about doing our job in maybe a more approachable way to the community and especially the youth,” said Whiting.
The funny PSAs come after a controversial couple of months for police officers everywhere following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
“We are just humans,” said Whiting. “We’re fathers, we’re sons and brothers. We just wanted to look at a way to get out in the community, get our message out and show people that we are human.”
Joelyn Hansen, community project coordinator, shot and edited the video. She also wrote the scripts.
“Hopefully the more people watch, the more they share,” said Hansen.
The first video released tackles Halloween safety tips like making eye contact with drivers before crossing the street, trick-or-treating with a flashlight and of course, leaving the toilet paper and eggs at home.
“Take a subject like Halloween and put it into video and try to kind of put it in a way that would be not only informative, but also entertaining and something people would want to watch,” said Hansen.
The department plans to continue the series with Whiting and Howell sharing other tips for issues in Idaho Falls.
“Car burglaries, home burglaries,” said Whiting. “Just things to be safe in the community.”
If you’d like to watch the first Cop2ition video, click here.
