Diven, Chandlier and Hendrix, Nicole and Hunt, Luke and Smith, Kyshawn USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO CONNECT WITH THE PUBLIC: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY OF A POLICE DEPARTMENT USE OF FACEBOOK. 2018. Radford University, Thesis. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
The use of social media has become a widespread phenomenon among individual users and organizations alike. Unique organizations such as police departments now use social media platforms in their everyday functions. Specific types of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are used by police departments. An exploratory case study was conducted to analyze how a single police department utilizes Facebook. In order to understand how the analyzed police department uses and implements Facebook into its everyday functions, a content analysis was conducted. The content analysis evaluated an interview transcript with the Chief of the examined police department, a social media policy for the department, a job posting description for the Public Information Officer who runs the Facebook account for the department, and Facebook data collected from the department Facebook page. The premise for the underlining research suggests that Facebook may be a tool for police departments to expand upon traditional methods of community-oriented policing. The researcher framed the content analysis with three main themes found within community-oriented policing: problem solving, organization transformation, and community partnerships. The findings from this study suggest that Facebook is used as a tool for community-oriented policing practices by the examined police department. Through using Facebook to connect with the public, community partnerships, problem solving, and organizational transformations were all present in the collected data. Policy, research, social media, community policing, and departmental implications can further be made from the results of this study.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Criminal Justice |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Jun 2018 19:49 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Apr 2023 14:17 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/457 |
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