Browsing by Subject "Police and mass media"
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Item Creation of a Social Media Policy for Law Enforcement Agencies(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2017) Bettis, JamesDuring the last two decades, technology advancements have had an impact on how law enforcement organizations operate. One of these technological advancements has been the evolution of the internet and the ability to communicate electronically. Twenty years ago, sitting at a computer, typing an email, and having it sent to the recipient almost instantly was a new and novel idea. Now a person can type their thoughts, feelings, and ideas from their phone or other portable device from virtually anywhere at any time. This is accomplished through social media. The use of social has provided new challenges and opportunities law enforcement agencies. In order to mitigate the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities, agencies will need to create a social media policy. This policy will need to address how the agency is represented on social media. This includes who will be allowed to utilize social media on the agency’s behalf as well as how it will be used for investigative and emergency purposes. The policy will also need to address employees’ rights as they pertain to social media use, both on and off-duty.Item Law Enforcement and Social Media(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2017) Kjergaard, IreneEveryday there is something new to be found on the internet. There are new sites, videos, photographs, and even articles. These days, the internet is where the public goes to get their information. Printed publications such as newspapers and magazines will soon be a thing of the past. Those publications can now be found online as well. In order to keep up with these changing times, law enforcement agencies need to be where the public can be reached faster and by more people. Law enforcement agencies should develop and maintain a presence on social media sites. Social media sites should be thought of as tools. The sites can be used to educate the public. They can also be used to disseminate emergency information or notify the public of upcoming events. They can highlight things going on within the department or recognize employees. Social media sites can be a great way to increase positive interactions with the citizens. There are those who have concerns about the information being put out by law enforcement agencies. They believe that information put out may affect the outcome of an on-going investigation. There are still others who believe their 4th Amendment rights are being violated. They do not realize that they no longer have an expectation of privacy once they post to a social media site. Some agencies may still be hesitant to use social media, but it is what the agency makes of it. They can publish the facts or they can publish the facts while also publishing thoughts, ideas, questions, or concerns. Social media is the new way to interact with the community and that is why agencies should develop and maintain sites to interact with their public.Item Regulation of Social Media by Agencies(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2017) Brenek, TroyThis paper will explain the importance of why police departments should regulate social media. Social media is used in many different ways, though not all good. Departments have been able to examine both the good and the bad of social media. Social media now is becoming popular in getting information out to the public and has even helped in solving crimes. However, social media has also been a blessing as well as a curse of administrators for departments. Employees now utilize social media for their personal use and that sometimes manifests into departmental issues as those lines between professional and personal begin to blur. There are always the possibilities of employees posting negative information about the department on their personal pages. These situations need to be regulated by departments for future use of social media. By developing clear policies, departments will be able to declare guidelines of usage for the employees of the department. Clear policies will also ensure civil rights violations are not committed and derogatory information concerning the public or other employees are not posted in an adverse or malicious manner.Item Releasing Information Following a Critical Officer involved Incident(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2016) Bowers, Hollis D.Historically, law enforcement agencies have been unwilling or unable to properly deal with the release of information following a high profile officer involved critical incident. The mishandling of these types of incidents has led to mistrust of the department. While there is no magic bullet when it comes to dealing with these types of events, releasing as much information as possible in a timely accurate manner is the best strategy. By releasing timely, accurate information as early as possible following the event, the agency will better protect itself and its officers. The agency will reduce speculation that leads to distrust and civil unrest. As a governmental agency that is held accountable for its actions, a policy of transparency is a must. All lawenforcement agencies should have an aggressive, proactive plan to address these issue when they arise whether the officers involved acted exactly as they should have or not. All agencies will have one of these events arise and planning ahead of time and including all stakeholders in that plan is the only way to move forward. The recommendation is that every agency develop a proactive plan and policy to deal with these high profile officer-involved incidents.