Understanding How Hateful Tweets are Assessed by Police Organizations: An Explanatory Study

• In Event: Police Tools, Force, and Force Reduction

Abstract

Threats and incitement to hatred, offenses proscribed by law, are carried out through language. The criminal or dangerous nature of a written message is not easy to establish, creating a practical problem for police agencies that need to assess the presence and level of threat based on context and language used. The rise of social media has increased the importance of understanding how to evaluate the danger posed by a message. The objective of the present study is to identify factors that influence the decision to intervene (further investigation, direct intervention). To learn about those factors, we asked 37 police officers working in criminal intelligence agencies in Canada to evaluate the level of threat in 46 tweets. Results indicate that, as expected, level of violence advocated and the clarity of the threat are related to a higher level of perceived threat. We also observed slight differences related to the target of the threat. In conclusion, we discuss how police respond, how their judgment relates to the constitutive elements of the threat (Fraser, 1998), and how the target (identified or not, individual or collective), as well as the sender’s intention to frighten affects police response.

Authors

• Francis Fortin, Université de Montréal

• Marty Laforest, UQTR

• Genevieve Bernard Barbeau, UQTR