Policing through social media: a qualitative exploration

Social media, in the past decade, has been used to hold police accountable for their actions. There has been, however, a paucity of empirical research into how law enforcement uses social media. To explore this issue, this paper uses qualitative data emerging from ethnographic research conducted in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fallik, Seth Wyatt (Author)
Contributors: Crichlow, Vaughn J. ; Deuchar, Ross ; Hodges, Hannah
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: International journal of police science & management
Year: 2020, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 208-218
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Keywords:
Criminal investigations
Ferguson Effect
Legitimacy
Public relations
Social Media
Description
Summary:Social media, in the past decade, has been used to hold police accountable for their actions. There has been, however, a paucity of empirical research into how law enforcement uses social media. To explore this issue, this paper uses qualitative data emerging from ethnographic research conducted in a Southern American state. Participant observations of police officer deployments were paired with semi-structured interviews with officers from three law enforcement agencies. The extent and ways in which these officers used social media is explored. Findings indicate that social media is used to bring positive attention to law enforcement agencies and aid criminal investigations. Although the positive impact of social media was highlighted in these experiences, persistent problems and challenges also featured in the data. Finally, officer insights were drawn upon to make recommendations for future policing policy and research.
ISSN:1478-1603
DOI:10.1177/1461355720911948