Metro

NYPD absorbs Twitter account of Brooklyn captain who tweeted about returning convicts

The twitter account of the Brooklyn NYPD captain who used social media to warn the public about returning convicts has been temporarily absorbed into a larger NYPD account, law-enforcement sources said.

Captain Jeffrey Schiff, commanding officer of the 76th precinct, which spans Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, and Cobble Hill had launched the account @76PrecinctNYPD over the summer.

The social media feed had been praised in the community for being ahead of the curve in sending public safety alerts about serial offenders, but also criticized by Legal Aid for crossing the line in terms of privacy.

For now, the police department will solely use the @NYPDNews handle while they explore and research how to use Twitter at the local level, sources said.

A law-enforcement source said that Schiff’s account had moved a little too fast for the department, and they they were trying to catch up to him in their social media strategy.

Some community leaders said they hoped Captain Jeffrey Schiff would be tweeting again soon.

“He was tweeting about people being arrested twenty or thirty times, even people arrested 92 times,” said Jerry Armer, president of the 76th precinct community council. “It’s not the people who made a mistake, but people who’ve made a career out of being arrested. It’s something the community should at least be aware of, and is no different than using e-mail notices or putting flyers out on Van Brunt Street and saying we’ve had a rash of purse snatchings.”

In addition to tweeting about ex-cons with lengthy records that were a threat to public safety, Schiff also used the account to send out information related to Hurricane Sandy. Red Hook was badly hit during the storm.

“It’s just another vehicle to let the public know what’s going on,” said Armer.