Social media and policing: matching the message to the audience

Abstract

Purpose

This research aimed to explore the characteristics of respondents who accessed a municipal police service's webpage or social media (Facebook or Twitter). Perceptions about the usefulness of social media in policing were solicited from the respondents.

Design/methodology/approach

Several survey items about social media were included in a study of trust and confidence in policing that was collected in two waves: a random telephone sample of 504 community residents and 314 university students.

Findings

One in five respondents had accessed the police service's webpage, while 6.9 percent had accessed their Twitter feed and 5.4 percent had viewed their Facebook site. Social media users tended to be younger and better educated while respondents over 65 years of age rarely accessed these tools. Younger respondents reported that computer‐based methods of communication were useful whether they had accessed these services or not. Older non‐users, by contrast, saw little future value in social media. Chi‐square analyses revealed that users of social media had more confidence in the police as well as greater overall satisfaction with the police.

Research limitations/implications

Participants were from a medium‐sized Canadian city and the results might not be generalizable to other populations.

Practical implications

Social media campaigns should be planned and target demographic groups likely to receive the intended message. Younger and better educated residents are the highest users of these services. Computer‐based media campaigns targeting senior citizens will likely be ineffective given their low participation in accessing social media and lack of interest in these methods of communication.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to examine the recipients of social media and their perceptions of the usefulness of computer‐based communication for law enforcement.

Citation

Ruddell, R. and Jones, N. (2013), "Social media and policing: matching the message to the audience", Safer Communities, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 64-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/17578041311315030