Engage, National Policing Improvement Agency
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Engage: Digital and Social Media Engagement for the Police Service contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Contents 03 Purpose 07 Principles 13 Website interaction 19 Social media monitoring 04 Introduction 09 Myths 15 Digitally enabled 21 Risk management meetings and mitigation 05 The digital engagement 11 Social media landscape engagement 18 Collaboration 22 Ongoing support between police forces www.npia.police.uk 2 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Purpose “Effective engagement is at the heart of policing. The revolution in digital technology means that people are engaging with services at their own convenience and in the manner, medium and at a time which suits them. The police service is starting to engage and be engaged in ways that are unprecedented in the history of UK policing. Engage reflects these vital changes.” The purpose of this It does not replace force Nick Keane document is to assist policies and strategies and Local Policing and Confidence Unit police officers and police officers and staff should staff using technology ensure that they are when engaging with their complying with relevant force communities. policies around engagement, communications and use It has been written to assist of technology. the Police Service with new engagment technology and This is a fast changing field has case studies from United and this document represents Kingdom forces who are the current thinking and working in this area. practice at the start of 2010. This will no doubt change in the future. www.npia.police.uk 3 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Introduction – Gordon Scobbie, Assistant Chief Constable I would like to encourage Many forces are now realising 800 per cent in the making it much more you, as police officers and that traditional methods of past year alone. difficult to re-engage staff, to become involved getting messages out, which with them later. in the world of digital we have relied on in the past, Easy access to technology, engagement. My role as are having less impact and inexpensive ‘always on’ We also need to communicate Association of Chief Police are reaching fewer people. broadband connections and more effectively with Gordon Scobbie Officers (ACPO) lead for the growing use of mobile members of the public to let Digital and Social Media Over the last 12 months there internet means that an them know what we’re doing. Engagement has come have been radical changes in online presence is part of After all, nobody is going to be about in recognition of the way the public interact our everyday lives. confident in an organisation the need to widen the way with each other. Social who they don’t hear from and police forces communicate networking has exploded We need to embrace this who they can’t engage with. with members of the public, globally. For example new form of communication in particular via social Facebook has 150 million because if we don’t engage Gordon Scobbie media such as networking users worldwide, half of whom with people via social media Assistant Chief Constable sites, blogs, Twitter and use the service on a daily they will move on without (West Midlands Police) YouTube. basis – and Twitter has grown us and we will miss the ACPO Lead for Digital and overall by around opportunity to influence them, Social Media Engagement www.npia.police.uk 4 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT The digital engagement landscape Facebook – a social makes them easy to read and Twitter tips – to increase your followership on Twitter: networking website. Users write. The messages can be can join networks of friends, read by anyone. However, • Don’t just use Twitter to broadcast – think family and colleagues and people who subscribe to the about engaging can update personal profiles author’s page are known as about themselves. ‘followers’. Messages can be • Start looking for opportunities to engage – sent and received through if people are posting on Twitter on a relevant Facebook is important in a number of mechanisms, subject they are looking for people to engage with establishing the police including personal computers, them – look to join in where relevant corporate identity, whether mobiles and websites. at a national, force or at a • Ensure that your tweets are adding value neighbourhood level. Twitter is particularly important in sharing breaking • A great way to raise your profile is hashtags. Use Twitter – a communication news and frequently posts the right hashtags (#police is always relevant) as tool. Users can send and read stories before they are this will enable people who search for that tag to messages known as ‘Tweets’. reported in more traditional find and follow you Twitter restricts users to 140 media forms, for example via characters per post which television news or newspapers. • Who else is using Twitter in your area? Look for local websites who use Twitter www.npia.police.uk 5 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT YouTube – a video sharing • Use RT (stands for ‘retweet’) for interesting and website. Users can upload relevant tweets. That means if someone says and share videos of up something useful you can pass it on to your to 10 minutes duration. followers, e.g. “RT @mypolice holding webinar Unregistered users can watch on engagement, please join in the videos. Registered users http://www.mypolice. org” are permitted to upload an unlimited number of videos. • If you have mobile access use Twitter when you’re out on the streets doing something in/with YouTube has proved important the local community: “I’m speaking with the boys for police forces to deliver Blogs – is short for ‘web and girls at St Peter’s School about being safer in videos broadcasting road logs’ and represents a type their neighbourhood #police” safety messages and updates of personal website. Users around public order situations. make regular entries of • Start sharing your Twitter contact name when In addition YouTube can commentary, often describing engaging – word of mouth is great be used as a platform for events with links to video or messages which are critical of photos. • Think about twitpics, links to photos. People policing issues. like them Blogging is less common amongst the police than the • Finally start following people. If you get spam use of Twitter but some police followers block them websites include the use of individual officer blogs. www.npia.police.uk 6 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Principles There are some basic Credible – Communities like Consistent – Encourage Responsive – Wherever principles you should engaging with police officers constructive feedback and possible respond to content follow when using digital and staff, especially those discussion. Be professional posted by others, whether technology as part of working at the frontline. Be and honest – friendly but positive or negative. This is community engagement. accurate, open, fair, honest not familiar. your chance to reflect the real Remember to be: and transparent in what situation and communities will you write. value honest feedback. www.npia.police.uk 7 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT An ambassador – Remember Ethical – Information posted Generally you should not post Neighbourhood Policing is that you are an ambassador online should not: any information or messages delivered by people working in for your force and the police on the internet that you would communities and the online service as a whole. As such • Contain protectively be unwilling to release to personality should reflect you are expected to exercise marked or otherwise the press or say at a public officer/staff members whilst sound judgment and common sensitive information meeting. working within the individual sense. forces values. • Discriminate on any Personable – Officers Inclusive – Remember that grounds, or appear should ensure their sites are not everyone has access to the to support discriminatory engaging and interesting for internet. Digital engagement attitudes the audience using the site. is an additional tool to use but make sure you have a • Be libellous range of ways to engage with communities. Make sure • Breach copyright you continue to highlight key messages to communities • Undermine operational through more conventional activities channels such as newsletters, public meetings and street • Damage the reputation of briefings as well. the police service www.npia.police.uk 8 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Myths: why the police don’t engage They might, but this is an issue for supervisors and line managers. Most media users Yes they might but they understand the difference could also do this in a number of “Officers might between the media they use forums. With proper support for contacting friends and the and guidance this risk can spend all their time media they use for work “Officers might say be reduced online chatting to something which may embarrass the force” their mates” Overall it is a very low cost. There are people in every force who use this media “It costs too much day in, day out money and we don’t have the skills” www.npia.police.uk 9 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT They might, but they’ll say Downing Street, President it anyway – here we have an Obama, UK Armed Forces and opportunity to respond, CIA use it extensively. The engage and inform Norwegian Counter Terrorism “Somebody might say Unit has their own Twitter site something derogatory “Our security may about us” be breached” Most if not all police forces in the United Kingdom now use Facebook, Twitter or YouTube as part of their engagement with the wider “Social media is for community they serve friends and family – not for police work” www.npia.police.uk 10 contents previous next ENGAGE: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Social media engagement Ed Rogerson Forces are using social North Yorkshire – Twitter that they know I’m trying to media sites as a method for community engagement resolve the issues which are of widening their access to important to them.