Introduction
The use of Social Media has become an essential part of modern society. Individuals from all industries seem to be hooked by the ever increasing and innovative social media platforms. These accounts including Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and more of the same attract the attention of millions of users on a daily basis. The law enforcement organizations are facing tremendous problems with social media. On the one hand, the platforms serve as an effective and efficient communication tool.
On the other hand, the executives in these organizations are facing situations where employee misconduct is a commonplace through social media. It is evident that many of the law enforcement personnel will usually access social media from their workstations or patrol cars during their shifts. There are cases where some police officers will post information that is unbecoming for a law enforcement officer and only degrades and disrespects the profession. However, Police unions and related organizations such as the Fraternal Order of Police and PBA are opposed to the enforcement of departmental policies that would infringe on their constitutional rights. The following research delves deeper into the issue of social media use in law enforcement and the implementation of policies on the same.
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Regulating the use of Social Media
Similar to other industrial sectors of the economy, technology use in law enforcement departments are depicted to have significant benefits. These networking sites serve as effective measures of engaging communities and improving the operations of the officers (Snively, 2016). The law enforcement departments evaluate on the effect social media has on the personal as well as the professional lives of the officers. It is evident that there are significant dangers of the extensive use where defense attorneys are able to use social media profiles to discredit the testimony of police officers in court (Brenek, 2017). As a result, there are various police officers who are responsible for more than a handful of public-relations headaches. The concern is that failure to control how officers use social media platforms would result in a complete downfall of the department’s effectiveness (Hanson, 2011). The ability to provide the general public with justice will become even harder when the law enforcement personnel experience little or no control.
There are various ways in which the law enforcement agencies can set up regulations on the use of social media among its officers. It is evident that educative policies are essential in the controlled use of social media. There are many individuals both civilians and police officers who do not have a clear understanding of the dangers that are posed by social media (Hanson, 2011). In this case, the latter is likely to fall hopelessly into trouble for creating problems for the department that they did not intend. Recent news reports have shown that officers of all ranks have encountered disciplinary actions for the comments made on Facebook, internet behavior, or media posted online. The viral emergence has led to a number of them being terminated from the force. It is evident that negative remarks have become a viral emergence and went on to tarnish the careers of once-promising careers. Through the appropriate training and education, the individual officers will refrain from creating a mess they cannot revert from.
Every major law enforcement organization has a Facebook profile that is linked with the organization’s website. These platforms are used as fundamental tools for improving the work of the law enforcement agency (Collom, 2012). For instance, community policing can incorporate the use of Facebook to alert the civilians of suspicious activity, crime committed in the neighborhood, and locating missing children (Mergel, 2012). The primary aim of these platforms is to act as a communication medium at a human level. It is evident that the relationship between police officers and the civilians has been strained for a while now. Therefore, Facebook helps breakdown these strict walls hindering close collaboration between the two parties. The personal accounts of individual officers are used only to achieve personal needs. As a result, something posted on the internet could be injurious to the overall function of the group (Mergel, 2012). A good example is when a police officer uploads a picture of a fellow worker who may be working undercover to illuminate organized crime syndicates.
The law enforcement agencies should monitor the activity of police officers on social media during working hours and even when they are off duty. While users of various platforms can restrict the number of people who can view their profiles, it is clear that they lack privacy (Snively, 2016). Law enforcement organizations operate on high levels of secrecy to prevent criminals within the society from identifying their next move which may make it more difficult to apprehend them. The videos, comments, and pictures are preserved in perpetuity (Collom, 2012). If something posted earlier on conflicts with the policies and beliefs of the organization, it could potentially lead to the end of an individual’s career. In this regard, regulating the social media activity of individual officers will help prevent premature career ends of essential members of the force.
Best Practices to Regulate Police Officers
The recent events where police officers faced disciplinary action for improper use of social media has shown the need to address the best practices to regulate officers (Collom, 2012). As the policy manager, it is essential to develop best practices factors that help evaluate the nature of social media activity that an individual officer may engage in. The first would be to gauge a photo, video, or comment as either inappropriate or professional by violating set organizational policies, confidentiality, or creating public unrest (Brenek, 2017). Police officers should not be in the habit of causing viral videos of themselves that would depict the department in a negative manner (Collom, 2012). Those who have permission from the agency to have personal accounts should, therefore, demonstrate an extensive understanding of satisfactory internet behavior in regards to the policies and public acceptance (Collom, 2012). The users should note that being actively in pursuit of criminals could put them in grave danger when they are posting regularly on social media.
There is continued deliberation on the ways of evaluating the social media conduct of a police officer. Some of the elements to look at include whether the action of the officer was deliberate in linking with his or her job as a police officer, the public attention it received, and nature of communication (Brenek, 2017). The elements stated above were called into question after a Peoria police sergeant was demoted and suspended for two weeks without pay following concerning imagery posted on Facebook. The sergeant posted a photo of a group of high school student where some posed with ammunition, and one wore a T-shirt with a picture of President Obama full of bullet holes (Collom, 2012). The nature of the photos seemed to suggest that the police officer wanted individuals to attack and kill the then President of the US. There debates where some believe that such behavior should go unpunished.
The policies that administer the regulation of police activity on social media call into question the behavior of individuals at junior levels. It has become an issue of concern where top-ranking members are questioned for their actions online (Hanson, 2011). Online dating is a common activity in modern society, and the department cannot prevent an officer from participating in the quest for love and affection. However, the behavior of the officer would be called into question when the online users raise a plethora of accusations regarding harassment (Brenek, 2017). The internet conduct would be deemed offensive for presenting a negative image of the organization while also creating animosity with the public (Brenek, 2017). It is crucial that law enforcement maintain public trust as a means of easing their operations in society and helping prevent criminal activity. The primary function is under jeopardy when an officer offends the public.
Conclusion
The use of social media is an important tenet in the modern law enforcement organization in enforcing policing operations. Nearly all organizations have Facebook accounts directly linked to their respective websites. The personnel use the official accounts as a means of communicating with the public by relaying important news to them. For instances, the incidence of a missing person the input of the public could help track down the perpetrators and lead to the rescue of the victim. Personal accounts will usually have little to do with official police business but more on individual opinions and desires. It is important to note that the life of a police officer changes immediately they put on a badge and uniform. Therefore, even when off-duty, the police officer should relay the best interests of the organization whether online or physically. It is for this reason that regulation of the online activity on social accounts of these officers should be monitored.
References
Brenek, T. (2017). Regulation of Social Media by Agencies . The Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
Collom, L. (2012) When police officers use social media, their departments see risks . The Arizona Republic, Retrieved from http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/03/01/20120301police-officers-social-media-use-departments-see-risks.html#ixzz5ehgv7OHe
Hanson, W. (2011) How Social Media Is Changing Law Enforcement . Government Technology, Retrieved from http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/How-Social-Media-Is-Changing-Law-Enforcement.html
Mergel, I. (2012). The social media innovation challenge in the public sector. Information Polity, 17 (3, 4), 281-292.
Snively, D. T. (2016). Effective Social Media Use by Law Enforcement Agencies: A Case Study Approach to Quantifying and Improving Efficacy and Developing Agency Best Practices. Master of Public Administration Practicums. 2 . Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mpa_etd/2
