Police Presence on Social Media: Engaging the Public and Best Practices for Interacting Online

• In Event: Police Use of Social Media and Internet Technology to Engage the Public

Abstract

Recent years have seen the use of social networking sites (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) by the police increase substantially. It has been used to help solve crimes and communicate with the public on a variety of issues. However, we know little about how the police themselves view the use of social networking sites. The purpose of this paper is to examine how and why the police utilize social networking sites to interact with the public in Canada. The findings of this study have emerged from the analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews with police officers who are responsible for administering their department’s social networking sites. This paper discusses the variety of ways the police used social networking sites, the purpose of using these sites, and the best practices and limitations of such use. The implications of the utilization of this type of technology by the police are also discussed.

Authors

• Christopher OConnor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

• Huda H. Zaidi, University of Ontario