Luke Burbank: Tweets by Beat are too much information

The Seattle Police Department’s new “Tweet by beat” posts most 911 calls by beat to Twitter on a delayed basis. (Twitter image)

With the Seattle Police Department putting 911 calls on Twitter via its new “Tweets by Beat” initiative, Luke Burbank figured it would be worthwhile to keep tabs on crime happenings in his Beacon Hill neighborhood.

“I thought this would be great because I just figured it was better to be informed,” says the KIRO Radio host about the new service. But after a weekend of watching a plethora of petty thefts and other crimes stream through his Twitter feed, Burbank has decided it’s too much.

“What I didn’t realize was each morning that I got up, there was just this digital history of all of the stuff that had gone down in my immediate neighborhood. And none of it was too terrifying, but it just made me feel like there are, it turns out, a fair number of suspicious people doing suspicious stuff in my neighborhood.”

The service posts most 911 calls except those that might compromise an investigation. It also limits addresses to avoid revealing specific locations. And it delays posting the calls by an hour.

“How does that help you if you’re trying to keep abreast of crimes in your neighborhood? All you’re keeping abreast of is the crimes that have already happened an hour ago,” asks co-host Dave Ross.

“It’s not useful information to me, I’m not going to get it in time to do anything,” Burbank says. “And all it does is make me feel less great about what goes on after I go to sleep at night. Which raises the question: is it better to be blissfully unaware of what’s going on around you or to know each and everything?”