Humanising modern policing to drive transparent community engagement

The challenge

The solution

To bridge this gap, Gwent Police launched “On Shift With…”, an eight week documentary style digital campaign designed to show rather than tell. Consisting of six core weeks of content supported by comprehensive launch and wrap-up activity, each week immersed audiences in a different specialist area. The series spotlighted the Roads Policing and Specialist Operations (RPSO) unit, Custody, the Dog Section, Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST), Response Policing, and the Rape Investigation Team (RIT).

The team structured each release into a deliberate content journey. Teaser trailers were debuted first to build anticipation, followed by the full episode the next day, and a dedicated catch-up post later in the week to sustain viewing momentum. Full length documentary episodes were hosted on YouTube, while short-form cut downs, teasers, and stories were crafted specifically for TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, to align with native user behaviour and maximise video completion rates. To ensure total accessibility and inclusivity across all communities in Gwent, every piece of content was produced bilingually in English and Welsh. Campaign performance, reach, and audience sentiment were tracked through a combination of Orlo’s Analytics and native platform reporting.

The results

The campaign significantly exceeded the performance expectations, proving an overwhelming public appetite for authentic behind the scenes content. Across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, Gwent Police achieved 883k impressions, reached 771k people, and secured 693k video views, backed by 1.8k clicks, 223 shares, and 195 comments across 106 published posts. 

TikTok provided an additional layer of engagement, driving over 476k video views, 17k likes, 1.2k saves, and over 1k shares across 35 posts. In total, the campaign generated more than 1.16 million video views across social channels. 

Individual departmental spotlights saw substantial organic engagement. A single TikTok segment featuring Roads and Policing and Specialist Operations generated over 116k views, over 3k likes, and 407 shares, while Custody and Response Policing features likewise achieved exceptional reach.

Crucially, the success of the ‘On Shift With…’ campaign went far beyond quantitative metrics. Qualitative sentiment shifted noticeably, with community members expressing sincere appreciation for the transparency of the series, showing respect for frontline staff, and recognising the operational challenges faced by teams like the Rape Investigation Team. By harnessing data from Orlo’s Analytics and pairing it with transparent storytelling, Gwent Police successfully transformed public curiosity into trust, establishing a clear blueprint for future digital communications and recruitment.