Law Enforcement in the Age of Social Media: The Organizational Image Construction of Police on Twitter and Facebook

Abstract

Law enforcement agencies across the United States are under pressure to renew their commitment to strengthening community relationships while continuing to promote public safety and reduce crime. This renewed commitment has been catapulted by a series of events that have served to tarnish the image and reputation of law enforcement. In response, there has been a reinvigorated national discussion of how to enhance the image of police as an organization that has positive community relationships. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (2015) and The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) focus on the importance of building police-community relationships in the “Post-Ferguson” era of policing. Toward this end, the Task Force sees enormous potential of social media to bolster the police’s image and reputation. Research on police uses of social media, however, is very limited. This dissertation therefore explores the image-making efforts of twelve police organizations across the United States. By integrating organizational image construction from communication theory with the study of policing, this research examines the organizational identities and intended images that agencies are trying to project based on perspectives from interviews with those responsible for agency communications. It then compares these identities and intended images to the content produced on Twitter and Facebook over a twelve-month period using content analysis. This research found that across the diverse agencies examined here, there is a clear and consistent commitment to enhancing the community-oriented image of police. Respondents emphasized the value of humanizing police work and lending transparency to their actions and decisions as organizations. Content on agency websites equally revealed this commitment to positive community relationships. However, the content analysis of media feeds told a more nuanced story. Although each of the agencies examined disseminate community-oriented messaging, the traditional police mission of investigating crimes and solving criminal cases remains strong. Overall, social media content reveals efforts by police to delicately balance their crime-fighting and community-oriented identities. This balance varies by agency size, jurisdiction, and platform suggesting that the pressures governing image-making activities must be further examined in local context. This research seeks to demonstrate the value of applying an organizational image construction approach to police-community relations in our age of social media. This cross-disciplinary approach provides a framework for policy-makers and practitioners to assess whether their social media content aligns with their intended organizational identities and maximizes the ability to maintain a positive reputation.