The Criminal Justice Community Must Use Social Media

991 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of social media and law enforcement

With the proliferation and ubiquity of social media technology, more criminal justice educators and professionals need to have an adequate understanding of how to use it for their benefit. Social media and government was first viewed as a way to push news updates or relevant issues in a community to citizens, but that is only one component of the many emerging benefits in social media. One year ago, John Dale of the Boston Police Department described the benefits of embracing Twitter as an early warning system:

“Using the Twitter advanced search, we can look at all the tweets in Boston in real-time... We’re not interested in just everyday messages that people put up--but when people start saying ‘What’s that smoke coming from the Hancock Tower’ or ‘Why is everybody running around Copley Place’ or something?... If two or three things come in--patterns, trends--something we should be paying attention to” (Youtube).

The need to embrace, understand and utilize social media has come from the top down, literally. President Obama won the election largely due to money raised from grassroots donations and by reaching people through social media. Additionally, the President signed the “Open Government Directive” which makes transparency in government a requirement on all levels. This directive has a handful of unprecedented benefits. For the first time ever, all federal agencies were required to have two way communication with citizens. Additionally, citizens could make suggestions, vote up or down others’ ideas, and have an active voice in government through Twitter or replying to blog posts which was previously seen as near impossible.

A fantastic example of an agency taking the lead with “OpenGov” is the Federal Communications Com...

... middle of paper ...

.../www.dhs.gov/journal/theblog/2010/03/open-for-questions-

aviation-security.html>.

"Digg Dialogg Episode 12: Julius Genachowski - Julius Genachowski, FCC, Walt Mossberg." DiggTV. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

"DoD Official Policy on New/Social Media." DoD Social Media Hub. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. newsocial-media/>. "Emergency Managers and First Responders Use Twitter and Facebook to Update Communities." Emergency Management. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

"OpenEPA - by IdeaScale." Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

"YouTube - John Daly/Boston Police at NHSMB on 03/27/2009." YouTube. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

Show More
Related

  • Social Media and the Presidency

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the current time, it seems like one cannot go a day without using at least one social media website. This might be especially true among groups of teenagers and young adults. Social media became a vital part of daily life that feeds people with several types of information constantly. Political news is a type of information that can reach the people through the means of social media. Since presidents are constantly seeking new strategies to increase their communication with the public in order to spread their political message, they utilize the different social media websites. Hence, social media became a platform to spread political message. It is not surprising that now the majority of political officials and candidates have social media accounts more than ever before, such as a Twitter account.

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice: A Social Media Analysis

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Rose and Fox (2014), 'widespread use of social networking sites [...] has changed the way individuals engage with news, political institutions and society' (p. 774); as a result, the public perception of social issues, understanding of crime, and assumptions about criminal justice are challenged by a new digital and online interactive environment. Therefore, given the present-day critique of the established news media and their institutionalised misrepresentation, new ways of looking at crime pose a threat to the hegemonic cultural production of information. This essay is going to discuss this potential problem for news outlets, drawing on examples from the Black Lives Matter justice movement and its reliance on citizen journalism. Firstly, it will be shown how the contemporary media environment changes, and what alternatives to the mainstream are available through online platforms. On the other hand, the text will consider complexities embedded in online communication networks, and ways in which citizen journalism affects representations of criminal justice. The final analysis will examine impacts of the unregulated digital culture on social discourses in general, and public activism within criminal justice in

    Read More

  • Essay On The Impact Of Social Media On Law Enforcement

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    The use of social media has become a growing form of communication within the law enforcement arenas. After the turn of century, many agencies have changed the traditional forms of one-to-one forms of to gather investigative information to using social media to gather the same information. Social media for crime investigations have been climbing to help solve crimes and help convict suspects.

    Read More

  • Teenager’s Social Media Obsession Is Not Good: Being a Teen by Jane Fonda

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    Levy, Ariel. “Trial by Twitter.” The New Yorker 89.23 (2013): 38-49. Ebsco Host. Web. 15 Apr.

    Read More

  • Social Media Law Enforcement

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    Law enforcement is tapping into social media to investigate crime-fighting activities and gather evidence to support their case. Not only do police use social media to alert the public of any dangers, but also they use it because it is a useful tool that reveals a person’s location, alibis, relationships, and motives if they are suspected of a crime. Jay Baer, a social media content strategist and speaker, claims “81% of police departments are already using social media” (Baer). One successful example of the effective use of social media investigations was when a Los Angeles graffiti artist was arrested after posted his artwork on YouTube. Nevertheless, Jim Naureckas, the editor of FAIR's monthly journal

    Read More

  • Social Media Law Enforcement

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social media plays a big role in today’s society. It connects many people to the world and what is going on around them. In addition, it is a great tool that can be used to access information without having to watch the news. Although it is a useful contraption, it can influence and damage the way people comprehend certain issues. Recently, everything that is associated with law enforcement is antagonized everywhere, from the news to social media.

    Read More

  • Social Media And Stock Market Essay

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    Social media is a revolution, which we are currently experiencing. It has changed the way people communicate and interact with one another, and opens up many more avenues to share news, information, and just general chit chat. Social media is relatively quiet young, but is here to stay for the foreseeable future. We are now at a point where online, we can share, read and react to lots of individual information being posted on microblogging websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and more. Twitter in particular has been widely embraced, and will centre most of the discussion.

    Read More

  • Social Media in Local Government

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    The revolution in information and communication technologies has been changing not only the daily lives of people but also the interactions between governments and citizens. The digital government or electronic government (e-government) has started as a new form of public organization that supports and redefines the existing and new information, communication and transaction-related interactions with stakeholders (e.g., citizens and businesses), especially through the Internet and Web technologies, with the purpose of improving government performance and processes (Bekkers & Hornsburg, 2005). Social media has become a central part of how people interact with friends, colleagues and communities.

    Read More

  • How Social Media Is Ruining Politics

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Media has always been playing a great role in political campaign. Many believe that one of the most important reason that Barack Obama won in the 2008 presidential election because he was able to capitalize on the social media and influenced people more than other candidate. He was able to reach out to people quicker and easily because of the fastest growing social media. Same thing is true for this year’s presidential campaign so far. Whoever can make the most out of social media is more likely to win the election.

    Read More

  • Influence Of Mass Media On Crime And Justice

    1802 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ever growing popularity of the media in today’s society will constantly be an obstacle for law enforcement to overcome. Achieving a positive relationship with media outlets can be extremely helpful, along with proper training in regards to social media. This can lead to better community involvement and an improved perception of the law enforcement personnel within the community. However, officers are not only limited to the consequences of the duties of their job, but with media being accessible with the touch of a button, officers must remember the civil liability that the performance of their job entails.

    Read More

  • The Roles of Social Media in Politics

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the words of United States President Barack Obama "Call your members of Congress. Write them an email. Tweet it using the hashtag #My2K." (Coffee). Social media has played an increasing and larger part in today's government. Social media has the power to influence elections and connect the people to the policy makers in new ways.

    Read More

  • Impact Of Social Media On Law Enforcement

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social Media Alizi M. Douglas Campbell University Abstract Social networking has become the new phenomena that has the whole world using it. Now law enforcement are learning techniques and strategies that are helping them being able to make accurate and precise decisions being able to catch criminals. There are a variety of ways that social media helps law enforcement due their job efficiently. With law enforcement learning the ways of the internet, criminals are also learning how social networking can benefit their criminal acts as well. With this in mind, police officers has to be cautious and stay one step ahead of their peers because if their not, a lot more crime can escalate within this world.

    Read More

  • The Internet and Social Media

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Increased communication is important in all aspects of life. Keeping in touch with family and friends is easier than ever before.... ... middle of paper ... ... Social media helps bridge the gap between businesses and consumers, helps connect people with people that they otherwise may not get to interact with, and allows people to get information more quickly. I was having an issue with my cable box and rather than calling up Time Warner and being on hold, I was able to tweet their support handle and get an answer and solution within minutes.

    Read More

  • Importance Of New Media

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Social media is becoming more and more popular day by day. It has become a part of our lives.

    Read More

  • Social Media and its Impact

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social media makes it easy for people to communicate and interact with each other anytime anywhere in the world. People can stay connect to their families and loved ones no matter how far they are from each other. That ability to communicate with people all over the world has made people much more open to other societies and other cultures as well. When people learn about other cultures they become more open to new ideas, more open to change, and more accepting to other cultures.

    Read More

More about The Criminal Justice Community Must Use Social Media

Open Document