The Use of Twitter by Police Officers in Urban and Rural Contexts in Sweden

Vania Ceccato,Reka Solymosi,Oskar Müller

doi:10.1177/10575677211041926

Vania Ceccato, Reka Solymosi + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/10575677211041926

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Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate the nature of information sharing via Twitter by police officers. We examine the content of Tweets in urban and rural contexts using a sample of 20 police-related Twitter accounts, comparing official and personal accounts active in Southern Sweden. Exploratory data analysis and in-depth content analysis of a sample of Tweets compose the underlying methodology. We find a distinct pattern of consistency in the content of the information shared via the official police accounts compared to the personal accounts, regardless of if they are from urban or rural areas. However, some urban–rural differences were observed between official and personal accounts regarding public engagement, operationalized as likes and Retweets. The study calls for a discussion of new models of police engagement using social media by a society that is increasingly shaped by the internet.

Highlights

Police agencies around the world are active on social media platforms (Crump, 2011; Dai et al, 2017; Meijer & Torenvlied, 2014; Schneider & Altheide, 2016)
We explore Tweets of the official police accounts in terms of content of the information shared in comparison with the personal police accounts, namely individual police officers with personal Twitter accounts identifying themselves as police officers
The intention of this article was to provide an overview of how police use social media, in particular the use of Twitter in urban and rural contexts

Summary

Introduction

Police agencies around the world are active on social media platforms (Crump, 2011; Dai et al, 2017; Meijer & Torenvlied, 2014; Schneider & Altheide, 2016). Social media may assist police with operational tasks, such as criminal investigations, intelligence, and crowd control It offers a platform for communication, where police engage and interact with the general public (Dekker et al, 2020). Through content posted on social media platforms, they build “exhibitions” of themselves, and their audiences interpret and engage with these impressions (Hogan, 2010), which affect public perception of the police. This is true both at the organizational level, and for individuals who publicly identify themselves as part of the police organization. Off-duty Tweeting from personal accounts helps an officer better delineate the individual from the institution, a strategy that “diminishes the appearance of authoritarian relations traditionally associated with police” (Schneider & Altheide, 2016, p. 129), which is fundamental for police legitimacy in community policing frameworks (Grimmelikhuijsen & Meijer, 2015)

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