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South Jersey Residents Will Be Able To Virtually Track How Officers Do Their Jobs

By Syma Chowdhry

EVESHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ (CBS) -- "Drivers license, registration insurance."

Eyewitness News got a firsthand look from inside a police cruiser, without getting in the car.

Evesham Township police are emphasizing the word "transparency" by using Twitter and Facebook.

"Social media is where it's at. It's immediate information that I believe the community deserves."

Chief Christopher Chew wanted to give residents an idea of what police officers deal with on a daily basis.

He came up with the idea of a virtual ride along, taking place online next Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight.

"Notorious, Saturdays during the summer time are our busiest times."

Every call that comes in will be posted on the police department's Twitter and Facebook account.

Once the officer arrives at a scene, another tweet will be sent with pictures and video.

"As it unfolds, take the video."

Once the call is cleared, there will be another status update.

Followers can respond to tweets and ask questions.

"Why are there two officers out there at a car stop? Why are there four? Why is there one? Why are you doing a passenger side approach? This is the thing we want to educate our public on."

Calls involving children, domestic violence or other sensitive issues will be tweeted without pictures.

But any traffic stop, even sobriety checks, could be posted with video.

"We aren't trying to embarrass anybody, we are just trying to show what we do each and every day."

Officials are hoping their social media followers will really feel like they are with the officers on patrol.

And they are considering doing virtual ride alongs on a monthly basis.

"To get our community on board to what we do and see it from our eyes."

"Where are my tax dollars going? This is where it's going," says Mayor Randy Brown.

Mayor Brown supports this social media push.

"We put a lot of money behind our police department, we put a lot of money behind DUI enforcements, cell phone violations, traffic divisions this is just one piece of what we are trying to do as a community."

That includes an online community.

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