Social media use in police departments

Police departments champion their use of social media but how it is handled can either turn a bad situation worse or calm a crisis.

Police departments are claiming to embrace social media to generate a forum for better communication between the department and their local citizens. According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 95.9 percent of agencies use social media in some way. However, associate professor in Communication Studies, Keri Stephens, has noticed that the content on local departments’ social media sites can be lacking.

“I see limited communication,” Stephens said. “They’re not necessarily communicating about everything. I see updates of things that are happening. That’s the main thing.”

The Austin Police Department created their own Twitter and Facebook accounts in September 2011. According to the Austin Police Department Facebook page, the purpose of APD social media is to inform citizens and businesses of public safety concerns. But some users do not think that’s the case.

“Most tweets actually are not related to alerts but more personal stuff or police related events,” Alana Zimmerman, 20-year-old Twitter follower of the APD, said.

Interaction with the public is a large part of the reason that police departments are venturing into social media.

“I think that establishing a relationship with the community is helpful on a number of levels,” Brenda Berkelaar, assistant professor in Communication Studies said.

The Boston Police Department’s social media response during the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing received praise from Boston citizens for the way it engaged the community.

“I applaud the Boston PD for leading an honest conversation with the public during a time of crisis in a way that no police department has done before,” Katherine Bindley, Boston resident, said in an interview with the Huffington Post soon after the bombing.

However, there are also some instances where police departments are not able to use social media to the extent that would help prevent crime. The APD was made aware of Facebook pictures that depicted physical abuse of two-year-old Colton Turner two months after the pictures were posted online, according to Austin Police. On Sept. 12 police were led to Turner’s grave. Since this discovery, Turner’s mother, Meagan Work, and boyfriend, Michael Turner, have been charged with tampering with evidence in the case, according to the case search warrant.

Despite the fact that police are still learning how to incorporate social media into their departments, according to Zimmerman, followers still appreciate this modern style of communication.

“I think the tweets are somewhat helpful,” Zimmerman said. “And by having them on my timeline, it makes their presence more memorable and seems like they are more involved in the community.” 

With the majority of the American population using social media it is more apparent than ever that police departments have a lot more to learn when it comes to this form of communication, according to Stephens.

“I think that they are especially an industry that is still learning what is acceptable to put up there and what isn’t,” Stephens said.