POLICE are urging people to contact them about criminal activity in Wellington – rather than posting it on social media.

Sgt Jon O’Connor, speaking at Wellington Town Council’s meeting on June 1, said that social media had its place and was an “efficient way” of raising awareness.

“A trend we are seeing increasingly more is the use of social media to inform other members of the community about incidents that have recently happened,” he said. “I fully agree that this is an efficient way of raising awareness and I would always encourage the sharing of information amongst community groups on these platforms.”

But Sgt O’Connor added: “In certain circumstances, however, it can hamper a police investigation if something is posted on social media first and then not reported the police much later, if at all.

“In a time-critical situation, for example, we would stand a much better chance of locating a suspect or vehicle if the matter is reported to us first whilst they might still be in the vicinity.

“We cannot routinely monitor social media pages/groups so unfortunately this may result in missed opportunities if we have been made aware at the time.”

And he made an appeal to the local community at the council meeting: “Please tell us first about a crime taking place before going onto social media – it would give us a chance of catching the offenders.”

Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsy said that he found it was easier to report things via Avon and Somerset Police’s official website, rather than ringing the non-emergency 101 number.

“I find it difficult to get through on 101, but the website reporting is very easy to use,” he said.

But Sgt O’Connor said: “I appreciate the wait on 101, but online reporting takes longer to process. And, obviously, if a crime is in progress please call the emergency 999 number.”