They’re the freshest unit in Saanich Police department and they’ve done it again.
This time, three members of the Traffic and Safety Unit posted their contribution to the currently trending triangle dance. It’s a 30-second video performed to the Backstreet Boys’ Backstreet’s Back Tuesday, though to be fair, more than half is an intro.
The post features Const. Adam Defrane with 2017 Tour de Rock alumni Const. Chelsea Cofield and Const. Johnathan deBoer.
DID SOMEONE SAY #Triangledancechallenge ??#SaanichPolice accepts!
— Saanich PD Traffic (@SPD_Traffic) March 19, 2019
We officially challenge @vicpdcanada and @OakBayPolice let's see what ya got!@backstreetboys hope we did ur song proud! Can you make a 5 man triangle? If so we want to see it! C'mon!!#TriangleDance @nickcarter pic.twitter.com/BF8srhm1sM
It’s only the latest piece of creativity from the Saanich Police’s social media channels and the fact the latest surge of creativity is coming from the @SPD_Traffic account has to do with the fact Defrane is in it.
Despite choosing the 90s-era Backstreet Boys the 35-year-old can’t help but identify with the tail end of the millennial generation.
On March 6, Defrane rallied a dozen night shift officers for a staged photo to help launch the current regional campaign to crack down on distracted driving. It features Defrane’s staff sergeant standing in as the ‘bad guy,’ Saanich Police K9 Hitch, some bad selfie-attempts, and a confused reaction to an analog phone.
“I wanted to do something fun on that tweet to get people’s attention,” Defrane said. “It ended up being a fun little night shift photo.”
What could you miss while distracted by an electronic device?!?#yyjtraffic A Platoon and K9Hitch want you to know its distracted driving month #EyesFwdBC
— Saanich PD Traffic (@SPD_Traffic) March 6, 2019
Please leave phone alone while driving 368$ fine and 4 points is not worth it. The selfie can wait. pic.twitter.com/bENJVMz6O5
READ MORE: Saanich Police video pokes fun at the tidepodchallenge
The trick for Defrane is that most of these posts are quick and easy, demanding little effort.
“As a [police force] you certainly have to maintain a balance” Defrane said. “I personally think there’s room for [creative social media] from police forces as long as it’s balanced it’s not all the time.”
The trend of creative social media posts is popular among police departments in Canada and the U.S.
In the summer Defrane observed about 100-plus U.S. police departments posting a video for the lip synch challenge including police from Saskatchewan and Seattle. Saanich Police didn’t do one but Defrane would have “loved to” if he had time.
“There’s a lot of fun posts out there from police, there’s room for everything, but you have to make sure timing is right,” Defrane said.
In February of 2018 Defrane and Const. Jeff Kreczmer posted Defrane’s crowning achievement to date, a three-minute video called What to Eat and What Not To Eat to Saanich Police’s YouTube and Facebook accounts. Defrane provides the colour, Kreczmer the straight man, in a comical response to the Tide Pod challenge.
The more the creativity, the more likely Defrane has put in his own time off hours, he said.
“Any video editing is on my own time. Mostly, a lot of it is quick, one shot.”
Defrane was also among the Saanich Police officers dancing in the May 2017 Spectrum-organized flash mob at Uptown which has hundreds of thousands of YouTube views across several channels.
“I tend to bring the flare wherever I go. The more they’ll have me, the more I’ll do.”