When Ingrid Palencia decided she wanted to try something new within the Fairfax County Police Department, she hadn’t realized that her next opportunity would involve spending time doing something she almost never did before: doomscrolling.

As part of the public information team at the Northern Virginia police department, Palencia handles inquiries from news organizations and sometimes is sent to crime scenes. She writes blog posts on the department’s website, and reviews hours’ worth of footage from officers’ body camera and dashboard camera to figure out driving habits to draw attention to.

Palencia was previously a criminal investigations detective in McLean, working on active cases and looking into property crimes. But her new role falls into a different realm.

“I’m scrolling social

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