Evidence based social media use: an exploratory UK investigation into residents’ perceptions of police Facebook use

Abstract

Purpose Social media is an integral part of modern society and is used by billions of people worldwide. In a policing context, police services are starting to use social media platforms to interact with their communities. However, academic literature is lagging regarding the effectiveness of police use of social media. The purpose of this study is to gather public perceptions regarding the police’s use of social media particularly the use of Facebook. Design/methodology/approach The study administered a cross sectional survey recruiting participants who are policed by one of the larger police services in England and Wales. A total of 294 respondents completed the survey providing their views on their police service’s use of social media. Findings The results of the present study provide overwhelming support for the police’s use of social media by the public, with most respondents actively following their local police service’s social media accounts. The study additionally provides a number of important findings in relation to the preferences of the public with regards to their police service’s use of Facebook. Practical implications The findings presented here provide police services with an insight into how to implement an evidenced-based approach to their social media activity. Originality/value The present study takes an alternative approach to understanding the effectiveness of police social media use by simply asking residents, an approach not used in this area of policing research to date.

“We are all in this together:” police use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…This study, together with other recently published research (e.g. Cartwright and Shaw, 2020; Jeanis et al , 2019; O'Connor and Zaidi, 2020), suggest that the adroit use of social media has been routinized in many police agencies (Rogers, 2003). Agency policies and budgetary allocations for using social media effectively appear to have been adopted by the agencies studied here, and those actions appear to have paid off during the early stages of the pandemic.…”

“…Some studies have investigated the public's reaction to police social media posts (e.g. Cartwright and Shaw, 2020; Hu et al , 2020; Jeanis et al , 2019). For example, Hu et al (2020) conducted a study on public preferences toward police Facebook posts.…”

“…Jeanis et al (2019) analyzed user engagement with Facebook postings by a police agency in Louisiana; they reported that public engagement was significantly affected by both the content of the posts and the time of their postings. Another study in the UK documented public support for police use of social media (Cartwright and Shaw, 2020). Most respondents in their study actively followed their local police agencies' social media.…”

“…First, the public is generally supportive of police use of social media (e.g. Cartwright and Shaw, 2020; Hu et al , 2020; Hu, 2016; Jeanis et al , 2019). Second, while police agencies can certainly use social media as a crime-fighting tool, “the emergence of social media provides police agencies with an excellent opportunity to bypass the traditional media and communicate with the public directly, and likewise provides for greater potential for police/citizen interaction” (Hu and Lovrich, 2021, p. 3; also see Walsh and O' Connor, 2019).…”

“…However, traditional forms of community-oriented policing outreach were curtailed as public health authorities called for minimizing face-to-face interactions. At this point, studies on police use of social media may shed light on maintaining a connection between the police and the public when in-person contacts are limited (Carrier et al , 2021; Cartwright and Shaw, 2020; Hu and Lovrich, 2020; Hu, 2016). To date, little research has systematically examined police use of social media during the pandemic, creating a gap in research that our study attempts to fill with pertinent empirical data.…”