Social Media has its place in policing

BOBBIES can have an important impact on social media, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said in response to criticism of how officers conduct themselves online.

Former South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson told officers to get offline and “get on with being the police because that’s what you are paid for” last month.

Mr Watson, who is now chief at GMP, told the Times: “Using social media, in these very contest times, requires a particular skill. And it’s a skill that we do not have. So for the most part, regardless of our intentions, we tend to use social media badly. And actually, reaching out to communities is all too often perceived as virtue signaling. And, candidly, in some cases it is virtue signalling.”

Responding, Steve Kent said this month: “Social media has its place. I don’t think we necessarily have to, as a police organisation, pander to social media.

“I can speak from personal experience where our social media gets reactions positively and negatively from the public, as does the force. So I think to neglect that would be foolish. I understand the sentiment that maybe we should be focusing on other aspects of policing. But I’m sure we can do both. We just need to do it more intelligently, because it does have an impact. But I certainly don’t agree with the notion we shouldn’t be doing it at all. That would be going back in time.”

A 2017 study from the USA examined the effectiveness of police social media use. It found Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms were positively viewed by officers, who concluded social media improved community relations and crime solving.