Social Media and Its Use by Law Enforcement
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As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, law enforcement agencies must continue to adapt to the ever-increasing use of social media in society. As Millennials have now been in the workforce for several years, the reliance on social media as a means of communication is compounded by the amount of rapidly evolving technology. Its benefits are numerous and include ease of use, mass communication abilities, investigative support, and assistance in community team building and collaborative efforts. It will also provide a layer of transparency and openness to the public. These are just some of the benefits available for agencies to consider with their use of social media. Law enforcement should continue to embrace the advantages available with social media. With the prevalence of social media, there will be less of a separation between agencies and their communities. There are numerous examples of the streamlining of information via Facebook and Twitter. Chief David Brown of the Dallas Police Department has a twitter account and regularly posts information to the public. Arlington Police Department’s Public Information Office, Chris Cook, also uses this media during some incidents. As technology continues to evolve, agencies will have to keep up with these advances if they want to be able to reach a broad base of the public.