The police are employing Twitter, a networking utility that allows friends to quickly update one another via cell phone, e-mail and instant message.
Those who choose to "follow," or receive updates from, the State College Police page can learn about parking restrictions, snow emergencies, speed detail enforcement areas, arrest statistics and activity reports from major events such as football weekends, State College Police Officer Todd Scholton said.
Scholton said he was intrigued by Comcast's use of the site to respond to questions from its customers. So Scholton researched other public service offices that use Twitter and discovered it was particularly effective for the Los Angeles Fire Department, which used the service to send emergency updates during a major downtown fire.
"It will appeal certainly more toward students and younger people, and people who are tech-savvy," he said.