The Police on Twitter: Best Practices and Implications for Community Policing

• In Event: Police, Social Media, and CCTV

Abstract

Technology has always played an important role in policing. In recent years, various types of new social media (e.g. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) have become important tools for police departments. For example, social media have been used to help solve crimes and communicate directly with the public circumventing the filter of the news media. At the same time, the public can more easily communicate directly with, or about, the police. While there is a growing literature around the use of social media by, and about, the police in relation to specific occurrences (e.g. riots/protests, disasters/emergencies), there is still much to learn about how the police utilize social media on a day-to-day basis. This paper adds to the literature by examining the use of Twitter by police departments. Drawing on a content analysis of police departments’ Twitter accounts, this paper discusses the types of information sent out to the public and how the public use Twitter to communicate with the police. The implications of the use of Twitter on community policing are also discussed.

Author

• Christopher O'Connor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology