The
briefing Series 3, Edition 1 – June 2014
© incamerastock/Alamy © iStock.com/ngkaki © Chris Howes/Wild Places Photography/Alamy Police use of social media
This Police Foundation Briefing looks at the current use of social media by the police and examines some of the key issues.
Introduction
Social media – a growing form of internet-based examples of where it has been used to positive communication interfaces with all areas of effect, and looks at the challenges of employing policing. It offers the police a way of connecting this new technology. It focuses on the police and engaging with the public, it enables service’s use of social media rather than the important information to be distributed quickly policing of social media or the use of social and easily, and it can assist in intelligence media by Police and Crime Commissioners. gathering. With its growing impact and reach, social media presents real opportunities but What is social media? also poses challenges and is increasingly seen as a game changer for the police. Social media is a method of communicating using websites that allow people to ‘post’ This Briefing discusses the ways in which public information, chat with others, send social media can help the police, provides messages, and share photographs or videos.
The briefing – Police use of social media 1 The tool is used by organisations and information. According to research by Ofcom individuals keen to establish a connection with (2014), 83 per cent of adults now go online and millions of other users. Unlike traditional 55 per cent of the adult population has a unilateral communications channels, such as current social networking site profile. 96 per television advertising, social media provides an cent of adults who use social media have a opportunity to establish a two-way dialogue profile on Facebook, while three in ten have a with audiences, actively engaging people in profile on Twitter. 60 per cent of social media conversations rather than simply providing users, and 83 per cent of those aged 16-24, them with information. visit social media sites more than once a day.
There are many different forms of social media, Social media therefore provides the police with including social networks such as Facebook a new way to connect with the public. In a and LinkedIn, where users have public profiles consent-based policing system engagement is and network or connect with other users; micro crucial in building public trust and confidence; blogging sites such as Twitter, which enable the social media enables the police to engage public sharing of short updates; and photo or better and to build relationships, as well as to video sharing sites, such as Instagram or gather information and intelligence. To take YouTube, which enable the public dissemination advantage of this opportunity, it is becoming of photos and videos (Association of Police and increasingly important for the police to Crime Commissioners, 2012). This Briefing understand and make use of the different focuses primarily on Facebook and Twitter, as tools available. these are the most relevant to policing, although many of the issues raised here also relate to “An online presence in a modern world other forms of social media. is as important as traditional policing methods such as walking the beat” Any person or organisation can set up a ‘page’ Nick Keane, Digital Engagement on Facebook or a ‘profile’ on Twitter in order to Adviser, College of Policing (2014a) post information. Facebook users choose whom to ‘friend’ and Twitter users whom to ‘follow’ Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and in this way can keep up to date with news guidelines on the safe use of social media from these individuals or organisations. recognise that social networking sites assist Establishing a relationship on social media is the police in engagement, allow officers to important as users must friend or follow a profile respond in real time to incidents, and help the in order to see updates or messages. Wider police to demonstrate greater accountability exposure and additional friends and followers and transparency (ACPO, 2013). In particular, are potentially gained by people passing on social media may enable the police to engage (‘re-tweeting’) or ‘favouriting’ updates (‘tweets’) with ‘hard to reach’ groups, reaching a on Twitter or clicking the ‘like’ button below different demographic from those who posts on Facebook, which allow a wider traditionally attend public meetings. audience to view the original post. Younger people, for example, have expressed an interest in contacting the Why should the police police online (London Assembly, 2013). use social media? It may also be a positive way of connecting with members of the community who might Social media represents a major shift in the otherwise be uninterested or antagonistic way the public are sharing and using (Knibbs, 2013).
2 The briefing – Police use of social media Joint guidance issued by the National Policing “I go to public meetings and have the Improvement Agency (NPIA) and ACPO sets same usual suspects, which is great but out how police forces can optimise their use of social media is a chance for me to social media (NPIA and ACPO, 2010) and engage with potentially younger people further guidance has been issued by ACPO and who don’t normally come to resident the College of Policing on the safe use of social meetings” Chief Inspector Blakeman, media and on the principles of online West Midlands (Sommers, 2013) engagement and how to manage online communities.3 But despite the widespread Social media sites, unlike traditional forms of adoption of social media by the police in engagement, provide a means for the public to England and Wales, there is as yet no national raise concerns while remaining anonymous. strategy that sets out how the service should Many users have ‘handles’ – names which are use social media (Sommers, 2013). As a not their own – and this layer of protection consequence, each force uses its own enables them to contact the police without discretion, so both content and capability vary revealing their identity. A survey by Accenture significantly between forces. (2012) found that 69 per cent of respondents would interact with the police more if they The police service’s use of social media can be could remain anonymous, so in this respect broadly divided into three related areas: social media may provide an opportunity for the police to receive information from people who 1. Providing information – enabling would not otherwise hav e contacted them. specifically-targeted information to be shared quickly, easily and cheaply. Current police use 2. Engagement – providing the police with a of social media way of connecting and building relationships with local communities and UK police forces began experimenting with members of the public. social media in 2008. Its use was often initiated by individual officers, with varying degrees of 3. Intelligence and investigation – allowing official support (Crump, 2011). Since then the the police to listen to what their police service’s use of social media, including communities are saying and to build Twitter and Facebook, has grown substantially. evidence for investigations by monitoring All police forces in England and Wales, including social media content. the British Transport Police, now have Twitter accounts and all but two are on Facebook, Providing information while more than 2,050 officers currently have individual Twitter accounts. Police force pages Social media gives the police a new way of in the UK have a total of 1,567,759 followers on sharing information with the public, beyond Twitter and 825,243 ‘likes’ on Facebook.1 conventional mechanisms such as distributing Greater Manchester Police now has 72,409 leaflets or through the traditional news media. ‘likes’ on Facebook, the most for a police force Posts can provide safety advice to the public, in England and Wales, while the Metropolitan encourage people to be alert to criminal activity Police Service has 195,487 followers on Twitter.2 in their area, and counsel them on how to minimise risk. The information can be published 1 These may not be discrete users, however. One person may follow more than one police force on Twitter, for example. 3 See: http://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/ 2 Figures correct as of 5 May 2014. engagement-and-communication/communications.
The briefing – Police use of social media 3 Figure 1
(Payne, 2011) in real time and directly communicated to a Internationally, there are a number of examples ready audience in those who have signed up to of the police utilising social media effectively receive news from the account. This audience during large scale disturbances. For example the can read the information instantly and share it at Vancouver Police Department (VPD) used Twitter the click of a button, disseminating the material extensively when disorder broke out during a to a large number of people at little cost. major sporting event in 2011. The social media officer for the VPD used HootSuite (the social Social media is particularly useful during critical media management dashboard) to monitor incidents, such as disorder, demonstrations and public sentiment from the moment trouble broke protests. One notable examp le of this was the out. The police team used Twitter to continually summer riots of 2011, when police forces and engage with the crowd, as a result of which the neighbourhood officers used the tool to calm force’s Facebook ‘likes’ grew by 2,000 per cent. the public and refute ill-founded rumours of disorderly incidents (Crump, 2011). A good Social media use can also extend beyond example of this is when Mark Payne, a traditional policing areas to broader disaster Superintendent in West Midlands Police, used management and was employed in 2011 Twitter to reassure citizens that there was no during the New Zealand earthquake and the riot activity taking place in his area (see Figure flooding in Queensland, Australia, where it 1). When used in this way social media can became the primary means of communication control the spread of rumours and (Knibbs, 2013). More recently, the police in misinformation during protests and large scale Calgary in Canada gained an international incidents of disorder. Indeed this approach was award for their innovative use of social media recommended by the Home Affairs Select during severe weather. After the event, the Committee in their report following the August public expressed their gratitude to all the 2011 riots (House of Commons Home Affairs emergency response teams via Twitter, which Select Committee, 2011). helped to boost police morale (Elliott, 2013).
4 The briefing – Police use of social media Figure 2
Arguably the most high profile example of the sites provide an opportunity for officers to show police using Twitter during a major incident the ‘human’ side of policing and discuss the occurred following the Boston marathon day-to-day incidents that make up an average bombings in 2013. At every stage of the search day at work (Webster, 2013), as well as to build for the suspect, the police kept the public relationships with communities. Posting informed using social media. The first official interactive content such as polls and videos announcement that the suspect had been sparks dialogue, while innovative use of social apprehended came from a Tweet (Figure 2) media broadens the conversation on policing. (Keller, 2013). In their review of how the One of the most notable early uses of social Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) can make media by the police was Greater Manchester better use of technology, the Budget and Police’s ‘Twitter Day’, held during 2010, during Performance Committee of the London which every incident notified to their control Assembly noted that the key to the success in room over a 24-hour period was posted on Boston was that the police already had Twitter. The idea behind it, according to their protocols in place on how to use social media Chief Constable, was to “raise awareness of in this situation (London Assembly, 2013). the diverse and complex role of policing, explaining how much time officers spend with Engagement non-crime matter” (Fisher, 2012). The results The use of social media can go beyond the were eye-opening and the force was able to one-way provision of information to enable demonstrate to a wide audience that much of two-way engagement with the public. the contact they received concerned very minor Engagement is a fundamental part of policing incidents or events which were not strictly and social media allows the police to connect police-related, such as a report of cows at with citizens; giving the public an opportunity to loose and a phone call from a man reporting communicate with the police and feel that they that his television was not working. As a result are accessible as an organisation. Social media of the experiment, Greater Manchester Police
The briefing – Police use of social media 5 increased their number of Twitter followers from had been ‘retweeted’ 8,500 times and viewed 3,000 to 17,000 4 (Crump, 2011). 4.3 million times (Denef et al, 2013).
In addition to official force tweets, many In 2012 a post about a missing dog officers tweet individually, primarily as a form of made by Barnet MPS on Twitter was public engagement. For example, Sergeant Ed ‘retweeted’ 52,820 times and the dog Rogerson uses Twitter to discuss his life as a was subsequently returned as a result community officer in Harrogate, North (ITV News, 2012). Yorkshire. He uses Twitter to increase his visibility, having been inspired to do so after In addition, social media can provide being repeatedly told by members of the public intelligence to inform deployment decisions and when he was a PC that he was the first officer improve the effective al location of resources they had seen in months (Laville, 2012). (HMIC, 2012a). To this end, as well as using their own pages and profiles to gather Social media is also useful for internal information, the police follow the use of social purposes: to engage police staff members or media by others, gaining an insight into their boost morale. Following the summer riots in local communities, picking up leads and 2011, Staffordshire police posted a ‘word preparing for potential incidents. Sir Peter Fahy, cloud’ which collated the words most Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, frequently posted by Staffordshire police stated that social media channels played a followers. The word cloud celebrated the crucial role in intelligenc e gathering about positive feedback the force had received for the community tensions following a fatal police way it dealt with the disorder. shooting in Cheshire (Fahy, 2012).
Intelligence and investigation The police also regularly visit and monitor sites Social media can assist the police in known for potential criminal or antisocial activity intelligence-gathering, with its speed providing to gather information and sources (COMPOSITE a crucial advantage when appealing for Project, 2012). These include sites on the ‘Black witnesses or information or looking for missing Web’ (an unofficial list of sites that criminals use persons. It can be used during ongoing to communicate), sites that propagate hate incidents; for example in the case of Joanna propaganda and chat rooms used by sex Yeates, who went missing in December 2010, offenders to target vulnerable victims (Taylor, Avon and Somerset Police used Facebook to 2011). Every interaction with the internet leaves a call for anyone with information to come trace and trawling through an individual’s social forward. Footage from CCTV cameras was also media profiles can give the police information on posted on YouTube. his or her circle of friends or their location at a specific time. Partnership working can assist in It can also be used to obtain information after this area: Facebook, for example, works with the the event. For example, in order to identify police to help identify images of child sex abuse, suspects in the wake of the summer riots the freezing a user’s data to assist investigation. police posted CCTV footage and photos of Police officers from various forces across Europe suspects on the website Flickr as part of report that in many cases criminal information Operation Withern. The MPS used Twittero t can be found online that without social media promote this and within hours the Flickr images would have required a much greater investigative effort or would not have been available at all 4 They had 151,236 followers on 5 May 2014, the second highest number for a force in England and Wales. (COMPOSITE Project, 2012).
6 The briefing – Police use of social media The challenges last week’. The research concluded that the MPS’s more formal style reduced the force’s of social media ability to connect as effectively with the public as GMP’s approach, although the Twitter feed Getting the tone right was found to be easier to maintain and less Information placed by the police on social prone to negative feedback. media needs to be relevant and useful. Posts which appear to be of limited practical “Our data indicates that choosing an benefit can leave the public with the instrumental versus an expressive impression that the police could be spending strategy may lead to different their time more fruitfully (PSI, 2012). The relationships between police and public. Given the dependence of police on tone in which information is presented is public cooperation, the choice may well also important, affecting the likelihood that it impact police performance in the short- will be read and passed on and the way in and long-term.” (Denef et al, 2013) which the sender is viewed.
Research has shown that different forces use Engagement, not just giving information social media differently (Denef et al., 2013). The art of effectively using social media is In an analysis of Twitter communication by arguably to balance information provision with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and posts that are entertaining and fun. If followers Greater Manchester Police (GMP) during the enjoy reading police updates, and trust the summer riots, the MPS adopted a more tweets or posts as good sources of formal approach, keeping its distance from information, they will be more inclined to the public, while GMP was more informal, engage and come forward with information connecting with the public using a more themselves. In this way information provision ‘expressive’ style of tweet. The MPS, for and intelligence-gathering can overlap with example, would post the following: ‘New engagement, which to be effective, needs to be CCTV images of people police need to two-way. Studies have shown that open identify on our Flickr page http://bit.ly/rnax8U communication can improve the levels of trust Pls look and RT’, whereas GMP’s post stated: citiz ens have in their forces (COMPOSITE ‘Can you help identify these people? Check Project, 2012; Ruddell and Jones, 2013), while our Flickr gallery of wanted suspects and an online presence which is interactive, rather call 0800 092 0410 http://bit.ly/oyfZiN’. than one which simply provides information, can create a personal connection with users The study found benefits and challenges in both and promote positive attitudes (Briones et al, approaches. GMP’s more informal style created 2011). A survey by Accenture (2012) found that a closer relationship with the public, but as a over half of UK respondents (58 per cent) result boundaries were more fluid and easier to would like to see the police using social media over-step. This can lead to a negative response to eng age with the community, rather than from followers. For example GMP tweeted: simply to provide information. In practice ‘Mum-of-two, not involved in disorder, jailed for however, the police often use social media FIVE months for accepting shorts looted from platforms merely to give or ask for information, shop. There are no excuses’. This triggered rather than to engage in a dialogue with the critical responses such as: ‘That last @gmpolice public (Crump, 2011). This pattern appears to tweet: wrong sentence, wrong tone, wrong be reflected across Europe, with police most everything. Pissing away goodwill collected over commonly using social media for informing the
The briefing – Police use of social media 7 public about recent crimes, traffic accidents, risk for the police if, due to the volume of data missing people, stolen vehicles, suspects or that is potentially available to them, they miss arrests made (Denef, et al, 2012). important information on social media that could help them prevent a crime or apprehend Engagement through social media is not a suspect more quickly. without risks. There is potential for mistakes to be made if the right information is not given, or During the summer riots, the systems for inappropriate detail is disclosed. By its nature developing intelligence from large flows of social media is fast moving and difficult to social media data were not always sufficient to control and any mistakes that occur are cope with the demand to process it rapidly immediate ly exposed to the wider public. Thus enough to usefully inform strategies and tactics for example in April 2014, the New York Police on the ground. Tim Godwin, acting Department asked the public to tweet pictures Commissioner of the MPS at that time, of themselves with police officers using a subsequently stated that many UK police specified hash tag. The response was forces were still p laying ‘catch up’ in their use dominated by pictures that showed the police of social media (Mason, 2012). in a negative light (Tran, M., 2014). Police have to assess the value and accuracy Publicising a police presence of any intelligence they obtain. The House of If the police are to disseminate information Commons Home Affairs Select Committee widely or engage with citizens effective ly online, (2011) recognised that the task of public awareness around police use of social distinguishing credible information from rumour media needs to be increased. The opt in nature and speculation was challenging due to the of the tool means that the police have to make volume of information involved, and the speed sure the public is aware of, and will follow, their of interaction. HMIC has recommended that an social media pages. A large and diverse ‘ all source’, public order intelligence hub should audience will enable a police force to be developed to analyse trends in community disseminate public information and engage tension, including through monitoring social more widely. However a survey by Accenture media (HMIC, 2011). (2012) found that less than a fifth of UK respondents were aware that the police are “For information to be considered currently using digital channels. If members of ‘intelligence’ it needs to meet certain the public are not a ‘friend’ or ‘follower’ of the thresholds of how it is gathered, police on Facebook or Twitter, opportunities for evidenced, corroborated, verified, social media engagement may be lost. understood and applied. To be able to inform important decisions, either Identifying useful information strategic or operational, [social media intelligence] must establish its own Sir Denis O’Connor, former HM Chief Inspector approach to secure these evidentiary of Constabulary, described social media as a thresholds.” (Bartlett et al, 2013) ‘game changer’, but said that currently the police were ‘not geared’ to make use of the data it provided (House of Commons Home The police need to develop ways to better Affairs Select Committee, 2011). Due to the access and interpret the information that is volume of information that is shared through available through social media. In the US, social media, there are significant challenges in recent research has shown that using Twitter processing it and there may be a reputational data improved crime predication rates of
8 The briefing – Police use of social media stalking, criminal damage and gambling by 6.6 behaviour on personal accounts and that nine per cent in Chicago compared to a standard forces did not monitor staff use of social media crime prediction approach (Gerber, M., 2013). at all. The report recommended further training In the UK, a range of tools are becoming should be given to those using social media, available, such as ‘Redknight’, which was used identifying six forces who had not carried out during the 2012 Olympics.5 Similarly, the any training or awareness raising activity Collaborative Online Social Media Observatory (HMIC, 2012b). (COSMOS), developed by researchers at Cardiff University, is researching the potential link “Police forces and PCCs should ensure between social media updates and crime. The they have appropriate mechanisms for COSMOS team has partnered with the MPS to monitoring and managing the see if they can gauge and perhaps even predict reputational risks which the crime in certain London Boroughs.6 Elsewhere, inappropriate use of social media social network analysis is being explored as a present” (HMIC, 2012a). tool for supporting the investigation of child sex trafficking in the UK (Cockbain et al, 2011). Following the controversial suspension and reinstatement of the @mentalhealthcop Twitter Managing police use of social media account of Inspector Michael Brown of West Police officers and staff of all ranks and levels Midlands Police, it has come to light that of expe rience are able to use social media, officers using Twitter on behalf of their force which presents considerable management must make their usernames and passwords challenges. Content placed on social media by available to their employers should they deem police officers and staff must be appropriate for it necessary to remove inappropriate material public consumption and use the right tone and or take control of an account. The police style. Where this is not the case, processes service’s national lead for digital engagement, must be in place to address this. Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, has stated that police forces must exercise ‘proper A 2012 HMIC report identified 357 instances of control’ over what officers publish on their potentially inappropriate behaviour by police on social media accounts (Sommers, 2014) and at social media over a nine month period, 71 per least 10 forces are known to use monitoring cent of which were on Twitter. HMIC software to scrutinise their officers’ use of categorised this behaviour as: Twitter (Iszatt, 2014). The College of Policing’s G offensive language or behaviour (132 Code of Ethics clearly states that standards instances) that apply to the management of information offline are equally applicable to social media G comments on police protocol or procedure (119 instances) (College of Policing, 2014b). G negativity towards work (70 instances); and One aspect of social media that is particularly G extreme opinions on the government (36 difficult to manage relates to ‘cross-over instances) accounts’. These accounts, which are particularly prevalent on Twitter, see police The report also found that only nine forces officers posting about work but also about their had the capacity to check for inappropriate personal life. A degree of h umour, frivolity or human detail can help attract followers, who do 5 See http://www.redknightapps.com. not always want to read serious, dry tweets. 6 See: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/contactsandpeople/ academicstaff/T-Z/dr-matthew-williams-overview.html. However, occasionally an extreme opinion is
The briefing – Police use of social media 9 tweeted, or one user engages in an Conclusion inappropriate debate on Twitter with another user. It is important that forces have effective Social media provides the police with new processes in place to respond proportionately opportunities to engage with the public; to when these incidents occur. collect and impart information; and to gather intelligence. However, these opportunities Resources come with challenges which are yet to be The growth of social media has come at a time fully addressed. of austerity, when police budgets are being cut. It may also have raised expectations. If the Currently, there is no national strategy on public comes to expect immediate responses police use of social media and every force is to requests for information or updates on the left to develop its own approach. In March progress of investigations, it may be difficult to 2013 Deputy Chief Constable Gordon Scobbie find the time and manpower to resource this. called for the College of Policing and ACPO to produce joined-up policy to embed the use of The use of social media in its current guise is, social media into policing (Sommers, 2013). however, not particularly resource intensive; it is However there are some potential changes in being absorbed into the duties of serving the pipeline: a Digital Communications officers and communications departments as Steering Group has been set up by the MPS to an addition to their workload. But to use it focus on key strategic social media issues – operationally, beyond it being an information ranging from identifying the correct technology tool, is likely to require significant investment. to deciding appropriate standards of usage – As Peter Fahy suggests, “it can be a really and the resultant report may help to clarify useful tool, but you need to put a lot of issues in this area. resources into your control room” (Fahy, 2012). Work remains to be done on developing Deploying sufficient personnel is one such systems and strategies that help embed the use investment. The police need to be able to of social media into everyday working practices, analyse and manage the information they and ensure that lessons are learnt in terms of receive quickly and effectively. This is of what constitutes best practice. Research into particular importance in relation to critical the public perception of the police’s use of incidents, when there is a need to analyse social media may be of benefit, particularly if it information at speed. But it takes time to helped to pin down what the public wants from manage information effectively. Setting up a police social media account, how they view systems to mine and scrape social media for different types of tweets or posts and what intelligence purposes might assist the police in impact social media has on public confidence in monitoring community tension levels and the longer-term. With 87 per cent of young anticipating behaviour, but it only comes at people using social media, it represents a considerable additional expense. crucial form of communication now and in the future and could become a vital element in The extent to which these resources are helping to build trust and confidence and made available may depend on whether there improve policing in years to come. is sufficient understanding of the value of social networking at a strategic level. Some senior officers are familiar with the use of Twitter and Facebook for operational policing, others less so.
10 The briefing – Police use of social media Denef, S. Petra, S. Kaptein, N. (2012) Cross- References European Approaches to Social Media as a Tool for Accenture (2012) Are Police Forces Maximizing Police Communication. European Police Science Technology to Fight Crime and Engage Citizens? The and Research Bulletin. Issue 6, Winter. Hampshire: Accenture Citizen Pulse Survey on Policing. [pdf] European Police College (CEPOL) Accenture. Available at:
The briefing – Police use of social media 11 Knibbs, K. (2013) In the online hunt for criminals, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/ social media is the ultimate snitch. Digital Trends system/uploads/attachment_data/file/115831/ [online] 13 July 2013. Available at: horr67-report.pdf [Accessed 5 June 2014].
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