ABSTRACT

Academic research on police departments’ use of social media has emerged over the past decade, often focusing on large, metropolitan police departments, from what they post, to how they interact with the public, to how they manage a social media presence during times of conflict such as riots. Largely missing from the research is empirical data on how police departments of various sizes employ communication strategies on social media. This research addresses this gap by analysing the use of Facebook by police departments of various sizes, from large cities to medium-sized suburbs and small rural towns in the Northeastern United States. Findings suggest that public relations-focused content is top-of-mind for departments of all sizes, though other content priorities vary, likely based on the size and nature of the community in which they operate. Additionally, the public uses a range of reaction options on posts, although the long-established Like reaction continues to be the most used.

摘要

在过去十年中出现了关于警察部门使用社交媒体的学术研究，通常集中在大型城市警察部门，从他们发布的内容，到他们如何与公众互动，再到他们如何管理社交媒体的存在。骚乱等冲突。研究中很大程度上缺少关于各种规模的警察部门如何在社交媒体上采用沟通策略的经验数据。这项研究通过分析美国东北部从大城市到中型郊区和农村小镇的各种规模的警察部门对 Facebook 的使用来解决这一差距。调查结果表明，以公共关系为中心的内容是各种规模部门的首要考虑因素，尽管其他内容优先级各不相同，可能取决于他们所在社区的规模和性质。