Alignment of Municipal Police Department Websites and Mission Statements: A Content Analysis

• In Event: Police Organizations

Abstract

Community policing is frequently a key part of police departments’ stated mission and values, and it is important for perceived police legitimacy and community-police relations. Over the past decade, agencies have dramatically increased their use of technology to communicate with the public, particularly through social media platforms and department websites. Departments use these technologies for image management, investigations, transparency, and relationship building. However, there remains a wide variety in the quality and content of police department websites. Despite the promise for technological features, such as digital language accessibility and interactive dashboards, to improve community-police relations and therefore advance community policing, these features are not standard practice. We coded the websites of a diverse sample of 148 municipal police departments in Massachusetts to assess whether official mission and values statements are consistent with their website content and structure. Our findings indicate consistency in the community focus of department mission and values statements, but inconsistency in departments’ presentation of accessibility, transparency, and community building on their websites. The association between other department characteristics such as size, diversity, and urbanicity will also be discussed.

Authors

• Alyssa Yetter, Marist College

• Alicia Ann Girgenti, Western New England University