A National Portrait of Law Enforcement Agencies’ Social Media Engagement

• In Event: Promoting Community Policing through Social Media and Big Data Tools

Abstract

Effective policies and practices in social media engagement would lead to more dynamic and reciprocal communication between law enforcement agencies and social media consumers, which is key to promoting the essence of community policing. To understand how agency policies and practices shape the extent of social media engagement and its efficacy, the Urban Institute’s research team has compiled a unique dataset that tracks social media activities of over 500 law enforcement agencies around the country and their policies in social media engagement. This presentation provides a national portrait of social media engagement policies adopted by law enforcement agencies and highlights the relationship between those policies and their use of social media.

Authors

• Ashlin Oglesby-Neal, The Urban Institute

• Edward Mohr, The Urban Institute