Social Media in Law Enforcement Agents Practice. Survey Results.

• In Event: Use of Body-Worn Cameras, Social Media, and Overall New Technology by Police

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. The project Social Media in Law Enforcement Agencies Practice research objective was to explore and analyze the scale and ways of social media use by law enforcement agencies in Poland and also the impact of social media on the functioning of these institutions.

METHODS/DATA. Mixed methods research methodology was adopted: questionnaire survey, interviews and analysis of social media official usage by LEAs. As a part of this project police officers (n=67) from Warsaw Police Department were interviewed using a structured interview questionnaire.

RESULTS. 2 of 3 officers use social media in their private and professional work. It is taking place mostly as an own initiative. Most of the interviewed officers expressed interest in using social media but they signaled issues such as: lack of training, lack of resources and lack of policies.

CONCLUSIONS. Knowing the scale of the social media usage by the general population and the significance of them it may be surprising that there are no policies, nor training for the law enforcement officers.

Authors

• Pawel Waszkiewicz, University of Warsaw

• Magdalena Tomaszewska-Michalak, University of Warsaw