The Social Media Beat

2013 is now in full swing and our bloggers are hard at work generating quality, meaningful content. But, now we turn to you, our faithful readers. We know you are dealing with challenges, you have questions, you have concerns, you wonder just how does an agency (fill in the blank). So, this is your opportunity to tell us what you want to hear this year. What topics would you like our bloggers to cover? Respond in the comments or send an email to socialmedia@theiacp.org.

As we frequently discuss on The Social Media Beat, social media is a key component to a modern community policing strategy. It comes as no surprise that social media is also actively used for criminal purposes and this technology is frequently used in criminal investigations. 77% of law enforcement agencies reported using social media for investigative purposes in IACP’s most recent social media survey. Nearly 60% of agencies also reported they use social media platforms to share crime prevention. Recently the IACP received grant funds from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office to develop resources for the law enforcement community to prevent and confront violent extremism through the application of community policing principles and strategies. As the threat from homegrown terrorism increases, it is clear that prevention efforts at the state and local level are vital to protecting homeland security. So why is the IACP Center for Social Media involved in this effort? Frankly ...

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Social media has continued to change and provide both new solutions and new issues for law enforcement. The Center for Social Media staff members have traveled all over the U.S. this year, from Florida to Alaska, and we’ve heard stories of both success and challenges. It is clear that the field is developing a better understanding of social media and is using them in creative and unconventional ways. The 2012 IACP Center for Social Media Survey revealed 92.4% of agencies surveyed were using social media in some form (check the survey post for more results). Law enforcement agencies appear to be using a diverse array of tools even experimenting with some cutting edge technologies. It has become more apparent than ever, that there is no single, cookie-cutter strategy for all departments. Law enforcement agencies are finding the right technologies and using them in the right ways that work for their specific communities. More agencies are developing a social media policy and providing education to thei ...

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The Social Media Beat Bloggers bring a wide range of expertise and experiences to the blog. Throughout the year they have touched on numerous topics that are affecting law enforcement agencies across the country. Each week, they provide valuable insight and reflection. Below is a list of some of the most popular posts from 2012. Don’t Just Have a Social Media Policy – Train on It Facebook Pages Finally Get Much Needed Updates  IACP Releases 2012 Social Media Survey Results Information Released Before Being Officially Released  I’ve Been Outed Measuring Police Performance… Socially New Facebook Scam  Social Media Education in Basic Training  Suicide: Responding to Threats Posted on Social Media Understanding Hashtags and Social Media: A Lesson in What Not to Do Using Social Media to Compliment and Cross-Promote Your Local Media!

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As 2012 comes to a close, a few popular social media sites have rolled out some major changes. So, in case you missed it… Instagram updated its terms of service. Twice, actually. Instagram updated their terms of service early last week and immediately received negative feedback from users. One of the big points of contention was whether Instagram would be selling users’ photos. They then released an updated terms of service later in the week (http://instagram.com/about/legal/terms/updated/) and in a press statement noted that they would not be selling users’ photos. Twitter now allows users to download their tweet archive. Users can now get a list of all their tweets and retweets since they created their account to the present. Once you download your archive you are able to view tweets by month or search your tweets for certain keywords, hashtags, or @mentions. Twitter explains the process for downloading your archive on their blog (http://blog.twitter.com/2012/12/your-twitter-archiv ...

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Social media is an ever-moving target with new sites springing up, old sites disappearing, and functionality constantly changing. Here are just a couple recent changes and updates from the social media sphere. Facebook added a share button to its mobile site and apps. Facebook sharing isn’t just for computer users anymore. The addition of the share button on these platforms makes it much easier for smartphone and tablet users to share content from their newsfeed directly to their own timeline. Pinterest released secret boards and business pages. If you were attempting to create a board, and weren’t ready to release it, or if you simply had a Pinterest board of pins that you wanted to keep private, there was really no way for you to do so. Until a couple of weeks ago. Pinterest now allows users to pin to “secret” boards. And while they were coming up with new things, Pinterest also created business pages. Pinterest business pages allow users to enter a business name instead of a ...

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Social media helps people stay apprised of world events, traffic, and sports as they happen.  It has also become an integral tool for law enforcement.  Despite its many positive applications, this technology brings challenges when it comes to policy, privacy, transparency, and officer safety. For the last few years, the IACP Center for Social Media has offered an executive briefing program, an overview of what law enforcement leaders need to know about social media.  During the briefings participants often share their agency’s experience with social media – the good and the bad.  In 2011, one deputy chief shared with us their experience in losing an officer in the line of duty. Before that department was able to notify the immediate family, the name of the slain officer was shared through a post on a social media account. As a result, the officer’s spouse found out about her husband’s death by reading it on a social media platform. Sadly, we have heard similar st ...

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The IACP 2012 conference was a great success. We hope you enjoyed some of the workshop recaps provided by The Social Media Beat bloggers. As you can tell, social media played a prominent role at the conference. Not only through the many #IACP2012 tweets, Facebook posts, and mentions in the blogosphere, but also through the conference events. There were numerous workshops that touched on some aspect of social media. These could be found in the Technology and Information Sharing Track, the Public Information Officers Track, the Chief Executive Track, and the Innovation Theatre. Even in the keynote speeches at the general assemblies and the banquet, the topic of social media was brought to the forefront. At the first general assembly, INTERPOL President Khoo Boon Hui acknowledged the friendly competition between law enforcement agencies for engagement in the social space, noting that the Singapore National Police has more Facebook likes than the FBI.  New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly focu ...

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For the second year in a row, the IACP Conference has featured a "Meet the Bloggers" workshop. It was impressive to see such a well-attended, early morning (and post Host Chief's Night) session!  This session provided an opportunity for audience members to interact with a panel made up of The Social Media Beat's regular bloggers: Lynn Hightower, Dionne Waugh, Chief Billy Grogan, Rebecca McClelland, Mark Economou, and Sergeant Tim Burrows. The bloggers received some great questions from the audience. Topics included recent blog posts, trends, and emerging issues. One of the most popular topics was the issue of negative comments. The group discussed the fear of negative comments but acknowledged that those incidents are few and far between. He recommended building a dialogue with the community. He also discussed the important distinction between a negative comment and an inappropriate comment. Panelists agreed about the importance of having a policy and a disclaimer regarding the removal of comments on ...

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In August 2012, the IACP conducted its third annual social media survey. This year’s survey included 600 agencies representing 48 states. The survey helps to identify trends, challenges, and emerging issues faced by state, tribal, campus, and local law enforcement leaders.  The information collected is used to help inform the IACP’s Center for Social Media and several other IACP initiatives. The survey results have been referenced in dozens of news articles and research papers from around the world. You can view the full survey results on the IACP Center for Social Media Web site. In the three years, we have observed a drastic increase in the number of agencies with a written social media policy: ·         2010: 35.2% ·         2011: 48.6% ·         2012: 61.9% Social media tools are also helping agencies solve crime in greater numbers: · ...

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