London Police officer taking social media skills to SMILE conference

A London Police constable is taking her anti-bullying social media skills down south.

Cst. Sandasha Ferguson, a school safety officer, made a viral online video showcasing an anti-bullying song she wrote and performed. Now, she's been invited to participate in the SMILE (social media, the Internet and law enforcement) conference in Arizona to hone those skills.

"They invited me to be a part of the SMILE committee to tweet while I'm here for them from the Connected Cops account and also to sign their national anthem," Ferguson told CBC's Afternoon Drive.

Police forces across North America are making use of social media now that people of all demographics are connected on Twitter and Facebook, she said.

"It's a lot easier to connect with the public, it's a lot easier to get that information out there quicker and its more effective," Ferguson said. "By training the officers on how to use it properly and how to connect with the public, we're seeing a great impact with society in general."

Being personable and letting the public know that officers are "real people" is one of the more important take-aways for Ferguson at the conference.

"Some of the officers here are well-known for their Facebook pages, their Twitter pages because they put information out there that lets the public connect with them on a more personal level rather than just through their job," she said.

Ferguson cautions that all the information posted by officers — or anyone — should be appropriate, professional and controlled.

"The world sees it," she said. "Everything you put online nowadays is there forever. There is no way of taking that information back. You want to look at what you're putting out there before it goes online."

In addition to her anti-bullying video online, Ferguson released a new song on iTunes Tuesday about the loss of a hero called 'Signing Off.'