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Policy Development Draft Assignment
Krystal Lovas
Liberty University
CJUS 520
Instructor Name
July 23, 2024
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Abstract
With sixty two percent of the world, having a profile on at least one social media platform, an
online law-enforcement presence is mandatory. The wealth of information on social media
provides opportunities for investigation, but if used incorrectly, could cause much harm. Police
departments throughout the world have been embarrassed and frowned upon, for officers posting
racist and sexist remarks, in addition to photos of officers engaging in unethical behavior. With
the publics loss of trust in the police, social media can make it worse, if officers offend the public
with their posts. With the successful implementation of a policy, social media can be utilized
productively and a become a beneficial tool for engaging with members of community. Leaders
of law-enforcement organizations need to develop a social media policy, that provides guidelines
for appropriate social media use. Additionally, actions need to be taken when officers do not
abide by the policy.
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Policy Development Draft Assignment
Social media is increasing in popularity and becoming a tool for policing in the twentieth
century. The International Association of Chief’s of Police found that ninety six percent of police
departments use social media. Departmental use of social media can build a positive image for
the department, build trust with community and increase a perception of access to the police.
However, social media can exploit any negative attention or behavior by the police as well. After
videos were posted of the George Floyd incident, protesters surrounded certain police
departments. All in all, with the positive side of technology, also comes a negative side as well.
The first part of this assignment discusses police abuse of social media. Examples are given
where police make racist remarks and speak in a derogatory manner regarding citizens. The
second part of this assignment discusses organizational use of social media, which includes the
positive impact of social media. The third part discusses best practices for the police use of social
media, a social media policy follows. Last, there is a conclusion that includes my perspective and
a Christian worldview.
Law Enforcement Abuse of Social Media
In the past decade, scandals involving police engaging in racism and sexism have become
increasingly common. The Internet has resulted in, much of what used to go on behind closed
doors, getting brought to the public attention. For example, officers making derogatory marks
about the people they are hired to serve. Investigative reports have disclosed disturbing messages
between law-enforcement officials, degrading, and belittling the people of the community. The
majority of “cop talk” remains hidden in the private groups, but the topics always include;
racism, transphobia, calls for officers to use greater force, displays of firearms, celebrating the
suffering of citizens and crude statements by officers, claiming that certain people deserve
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punishment or death. The Plain view project is dedicated to uncovering the posts that police have
made, which go against the morals that law enforcement officers are supposed to possess. This
platform collects all the posts that could undermine public trust in the police. Still, the police
continue to discredit their own agencies by showing an extreme “us versus them” mentality and
having complete disregard for the people they are supposed to protect.
This seems to be more than a case of a few about apples. In London, a police officer posted
a message that said, “my dad kidnapped African children, and used them to make dog food”
(Cunningham, 2022). Officers are openly making sexist remarks, Daniel Naggea even stated that,
“women mistreat men and deserve to be abused” (Austin, 2024). This behavior is unacceptable
coming from the ones that are supposed to be protecting the community.
Organizational Use of Social Media
With the emergence and popularity of social media, new doors for investigatory methods
have opened for the police. Additionally, social media will help rebuild the publics trust in the
police after the recent misconduct headlining the news. Social media can be useful to upload
pictures of individuals with warrants, like an “electronic wanted poster”. This is done in hopes
that the public will cooperate and possibly provide tips, as to where the individual can be found.
A bank robber in Arizona was caught less than two weeks after posting the “electronic wanted
poster”. If assistance is needed to find a suspect of a crime, this is a good way to put the word
out to the community as well. A police department in Maine posted a video of individuals
vandalizing a spa at a hotel, within minutes, tips were collected from Facebook and the
individuals were arrested. The police use of social media is becoming a form of “community
policing”. The police are using the social media platforms to engage with public and actively
stop crime. Officers are using these platforms for service-based functions as well. Social media is
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an excellent tool for informing the public of traffic incidents or areas to avoid, in addition to
school closures and bad weather alerts. Using social media for the service-related issues also
produces the image of the public servant aspect of policing, which is important in building the
publics’ trust in law-enforcement. Police are now able to carry out functions online that were
once geared to the streets. A common practice amongst law-enforcement agencies is falsifying a
profile on social media platforms and “friending” the target individual. The second that the
individual accepts the friend request, law-enforcement can question the individual in anyway or
form.
Law Enforcement Best Practice for the Regulation Officer Social Media Activity
Given that social media has a significant role in modern policing, safeguards need to be in place
to eliminate misuse. With the amount of information at ones’ fingertips, it is important that a
legitimate law enforcement purpose to monitor social media exists. A present method of
investigation is the use of false social media profiles, this gives rise to potential for mischief and
privacy violations. This practice is against Facebook’s policy, but police department can buy
surveillance companies to gather the information. In doing so, the Supreme Court can focus their
attention elsewhere rather than the investigative tactics of the police. Lastly, targeting of
minorities for investigations. Be careful not to perceive a social media post as dangerous, just
due to the color of the speaker. For instance, in 2020, police in Kansas arrested a black teenager
for inciting a riot via Snapchat. When the reality of the situation was that the boy denounced the
riot. Please, accurately assess the meaning of a post. If these best practices are followed, social
media can be used as a productive investigatory tool.
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Departmental Policy Outline
The use of social media to engage with community, solve crimes and promote the good
image of this department is mandatory in today’s society. It is imperative that the department
abide by these policies, in order to maintain an uphold the integrity in the field of law
enforcement.
Purpose- Ensure the representation of this department is safeguarded and a positive image is
portrayed.
1) Any posts, blogs, or comments on social media must adhere to the following;
a) Posts are encouraged as long as they are of a positive nature and refrain from referring
to anything related to the job.
b) No photos wearing uniforms and engaging in activities that may be viewed as having
any negative associations
c) Never post any hours, shift changes, etc.
d) Do not post derogatory comments about coworkers or members of the public
e) Do not post any case related information, criminal history, or related information
f) No profanity or harmful images
g) No weapons, videos of work related activities
2) Personal or agency accounts
a) Social media accounts and pages must be approved by ones’ supervisor
b) The affected supervisor shall establish a person responsible for maintaining specific
organization pages
c) Department personnel representing the department on social media shall;
1) Conduct themselves at all times as representatives of the department
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2) Communicate in a professional manner, using correct punctuation when writing
3) Not share any political opinions or personal beliefs
4) Not talk about any aspects or comment on pending prosecutions
3) Use of social media for investigatory purposes
a) identifying suspects of crimes
b) Gathering information on fugitives
c) Background investigations
By adhering to these policies, this department can build the confidence of the public, while at the
same time use the advancements in technology to aid in investigations and solve crimes.
Conclusion
Many view technology and social media is evil, but just as it can be used for evil deeds, it can be
used for good deeds as well. One Corinthians forty-two states, “moreover, it is required of the
stewards that a man be found faithful”. It is up to oneself if they are going to use social media to
infringe upon the privacy rights of others, for the purposes of gaining evidence. When they know
in their heart that they are pushing the lines to the fourth amendment a little too far. Any cases
where justice is not fairly served or individuals are wrongly convicted, justice will be served on
judgment day. As an individual from the other side of the criminal justice spectrum, I feel that
officers posing as individuals that “the target” would likely accept as a friend is rightfully a
search under the fourth amendment. Individuals that have their privacy settings on “private” do
so for the purpose of having a reasonable expectation of privacy. It was established by Supreme
Court precedent, that a photo (for the purposes of this example) uploaded to a public page has no
expectation of privacy. Pretty much black and white, except the only gray area being an officer
gaining access to a “private” area using deceitful measures. This undermines, the moral character
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of law-enforcement, in addition to one’s privacy rights. I feel that the Supreme Court will hear
more cases in the near future involving these tactics used by law-enforcement via social media.
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References
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