"Creating unique, innovative ways to communicate with the public is part of our mission and values," Yokoyama said. "Great communication techniques provide an enhanced level of service to all residents, while, at the same time, helping to build relationships and true community policing." "Weibo is a very important and useful tool for us to communicate with our Chinese residents. It eliminates the gap between American police officers and residents who don't speak English," Gabriel Ponce, a spokesman for the APD, told China Daily, adding that it also helps people in China who want to stay connected to their families living in Alhambra by allowing them to know more about their lives here. Followers can also ask the APD questions by sending messages on Weibo. Walter Yu, who is the APD's Weibo page-manager and speaks both English and Chinese, said that new immigrants in Alhambra have lots of questions regarding their new environment and new policies they don't understand because of the language barrier.