NYPD Posts The Adventures Of Their 'Law & Order'-Themed Elf On The Shelf

A branch of the New York Police Department has a new squad member who transferred in from the North Pole, and it looks like he has his work cut out for him.

At the beginning of the month, the police used Twitter to reveal the new addition to their team, an Elf on the Shelf who they have called, in typical elf naming tradition, Pete on the Beat. The Elf on the Shelf, if you’re not familiar with the custom, is a messenger for Santa, tasked with monitoring whether his subjects are being naughty or nice, and reporting back to the North Pole every night (much to the annoyance of parents who introduce the game to their kids and have to remember to move and pose the doll 25 nights in a row.)

The cops haven’t run out of ideas yet, tweeting daily pictures of Pete clowning around the office in a little uniform, getting briefed, and posing in miniature Law and Order-themed sets.

Police like releasing fluffy news and participating in memes, and social media makes it easier than ever to craft a friendly, wholesome public image. But some take a more skeptical view of campaigns like this one and their potential to shift attention away from more disturbing news.

In November, for instance, NYPD was the subject of protests after increasing its subway presence and cracking down on subway fare enforcement. Someone had recently filmed half a dozen officers pointing their weapons at a man with his hands up and manhandling him to the floor, eventually arresting him for the non-violent crime of fare evasion, and someone else filmed an officer who had responded to a fight on a subway platform starting a fistfight with a bystander who was not initially involved.

After all that, it’s no wonder the police would want to start the Christmas season with some slightly better PR. And having someone on the squad paying attention to who’s naughty and who’s nice can’t hurt.