Police dealing with social media

Police Departments’ Relationship with Social Media

Ariel Darrice Wilson

University of Memphis

Professor Amanda Johnson

28 April 2022

The use of social media in police departments and the entire criminal justice system has both merits and limitations. The criminal justice system plays a significant role on the media coverage of criminal trials, as well as press releases of specific information and other benefits. However, I believe the presence of social media serves as a primary challenge for police departments. The existence of national cases and the fundamental role of social media outlines how social media has become a powerful tool for these agencies, but it but has still not met its position, because of drawbacks. However, many law enforcement teams are aware that the youth is the primary population that uses social media; therefore, they must be aware and educated about the negative and positive advantages of social media use and its influence on crime.

The major challenge for social media in law enforcement departments, specifically police officers, is that specific information is more subject to open record requests. This means that the communications sent among police officers and other governmental organizations are prone to poor transparency. As a result, law enforcement officers are expected to develop plans that match the collection and archival of messages sent between officials to ensure they are following the requirements of an open-records law. Additionally, shared information has a high likelihood of getting into the wrong hands, which could result in the exposure of crime data by departments to specific citizens (Siregar, Siregar & Silaban, 2020). Social media has also led to the facilitation of other new forms of crimes, such as prompting calls and revenge porn. In some circumstances, some police officers are punished for their actions; for instance, some police officers have been fired from their jobs and lost their credibility, which can result misdemeanors during their social media usage.

Data shows that Facebook is the leading platform used by 94% of law enforcement teams, followed by Twitter and YouTube. Each of these social media platforms are typically used to notify citizens about specific occurrences or safety issues, as well as a form of community outreach and citizen engagement. Due to the presence and usage of social media, police departments and the entire law enforcement team should use technologies that would monitor the use of social media and manage communication between the law enforcement team and the public (Gradon, 2020). These technologies are aimed at reducing the rates of exposure and attacks. As a result, the media should offer more advantages to the law enforcement team as well as police departments; it has been critical in addressing investigations and sending important information. The departments should also find ways to protect information that is shared among social media that supports peace and harmony among both departments and the citizens.

The Florida department is an example of a law enforcement system that has improved its technology and its full compliance with Florida's public records. The state developed technologies that are now used for the development, capture, and delivery of text messages between law enforcement teams, citizens, and staff. The police department at Flagstaff in Arizona serves as another example. The team created a novel program that allowed residents to text police departments within their specific areas, rather than calling freely. The program also helped individuals who were physically challenged to receive the same amount of care as others. Overall, improvements and changes within a law enforcement’s social media not only creates transparency among officials and residents, but it also saves lives in the process too.

References

Gradoń, K. (2020). Crime in the time of the plague: Fake news pandemic and the challenges to law enforcement and intelligence community. Society Register, 4(2), 133-148.

Siregar, G., Siregar, S. A., & Silaban, R. (2020). Legal Implementation of Electronic Information and Transaction Law in Preventing the Spread of Content Containing SARA Issues through Social Media. International Journal of Innovation Creativity and Change, 13(10), 1418-1431.