Newsmakers 2017: Sara Nenninger

Whether they are aware of it or not, many people in the Cape Girardeau area know Sara Nenninger, at least online. She manages social media for the Cape Girardeau Police Department (CGPD) and makes all the posts on the department's Facebook page, as well as on Twitter and Instagram.

The CGPD has about 13,500 Facebook followers, way up from the 1,000 or so it had when she took over the department's social media.

Cities with large police forces have departments that handle social media. Being a bit smaller, CGPD had two public information officers who handled it, but when they both left at the same time, social media efforts dwindled.

"We saw the need to revive that," she says.

Nenninger, 37, has worked for the CGPD for 17 years, providing administrative support for the Chief of Police Wes Blair -- duties she still performs.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Sara Nenninger

When she took over the social media content for the department, she wanted to do it right and get all the training she could. She began attending national conferences tailored to social media for law enforcement. "It's a different animal," she says.

In addition to posting the information, Nenninger responds to every comment made on Facebook.

Using social media allows the police department to become engaged in the community, and allows department officials to touch on issues that come up in the department. Sometimes that requires working nights and on weekends to address urgent department business or attend community watch meetings.

Social media platforms also have helped police solve crimes faster than they might have without Facebook posts. Often when Nenninger has issued a "call for help" on the page asking community members to call in leads to the police or help identify suspects, they receive responses within 24 hours from residents using social media.

"It has proven to be such a successful tool for us," she says. "We want to make sure credit is given where it is due, and that's, in large part, to our community."

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com Sara Nenninger