Experimental study of information dissemination for crime prevention by public agencies:

Abstract

Based on the protection motivation theory and previous studies that discussed the effects of risk perception, perceived response effectiveness, and self-efficacy on behavioral intentions and changes in behavior, this study conducted an experiment to examine the effects of the Metropolitan Police Department's crime deterrence task force's official Twitter account on crime prevention behavior. Information on the threat of communications fraud, the effectiveness of preventive behavior, and self-efficacy was presented via Twitter, and changes in behavioral intention, behavior, fear, effectiveness, and self-efficacy were checked over time. Participants in their 20s to 50s were assigned to a Metropolitan Police Department group presented with tweets about scams or to a control group presented with other tweets. The results of the analysis of the 60 participants in the police department group and the 49 participants in the control group showed that the presentation of information increased behavioral intention, but it did not necessarily lead to changes in behavior. Therefore, it was suggested that there may be other factors that increase behavioral intention and changes in behavior.