Sarah Boyd Joins Clay County Sheriff's Office

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has announced that Sarah Boyd will be joining their ranks as Public Relations Manager. In her new role on the organization, Boyd will be responsible for managing community outreach, social media, and responding to both media and public inquiries for information.

Sarah Boyd - Clay County Sheriff’s Office Public Relations Manager

Boyd, a Clay County native, spent the last 14 years as a Public Relations Specialist with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. At the beginning of her career, social media use in policing was uncommon. She spearheaded the development of KCPD’s successful social media presence. She has worked with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Nextdoor, Chief’s Blog, and Instagram. Within 10 years, she built a Twitter following of 245,000 in a city of about 495,000 residents. Boyd built this following through years of continued responsiveness and innovative engagement methods. Her development of the “tweet-along” program became a model for departments across the nation to use Twitter to engage with the community.

Serving as a vice chair on the Public Information Committee for the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Boyd has been invited to share her knowledge and experience at conferences around the United States and to serve in a consulting role for other police departments. She has also instructed internal social media trainings in order to teach social media use and community engagement enhancement to nearly 1,400 sworn officers. Boyd also currently serves as a Representative at Large on the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Public Information Officers Section.

Originally a crime and education newspaper reporter, Boyd was drawn to the law enforcement profession due to the observations and stories she received from the community’s officers while reporting. She believes that the foundation of trust the agency has built through efforts such as promoting events or posting on social media has prevented the dissension, violence, and rioting experienced in other cities, creating a safer environment for everyone to work, live, and play in.

KPGZ News - Jim Dickerson contributed to this story