BILLINGS — You might be seeing more of the Billings Police Department on your social media feeds after it launched a new podcast last month.
Public Affairs Sergeant Jeff Stovall hopes the production will show the community a different side of policing.
What was Stovall's dispatch radio is now a microphone.
“My passion is bridging the gap between law enforcement and the community here,” Stovall said Monday at the Crime Prevention Center in downtown Billings.
He was appointed as the department's spokesperson just last month, but has already published one episode.
He says this is not just a way for the department to disseminate information to the public.
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“There's a lot of positive feedback coming out of law enforcement, so I thought I needed to shed more light on it,” Stovall said.
He's giving the public a glimpse of something they don't normally get to see: good news as opposed to bad news.
“Not only do they see us in uniform, but they also see us in civilian clothes, and it brings a human side to things as well,” Stovall added.
His monthly podcast isn't the only one based in the Magic City. Victoria Hill, a spokesperson for the City of Billings, produces her own education podcast for the city nearly every month.
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“You can see the faces of the people behind it and how much involvement, decision-making and steps go into making an idea or decision a reality,” Hill said.
Both city officials hope this is a more transparent and effective way to bring the community a little closer together.
“Now I know their names and I know their faces. That's what I want people to understand,” Hill added.
There will be a lot of positive feedback and the great things that are happening will be emphasized even more. In this job, there are more examples like that than bad ones,” Stovall said.
You can check out both podcasts on YouTube or Facebook.
