Social media has become an increasingly important part of modern society, and it can have both positive and negative effects on individuals and communities. Because of this, law enforcement agencies must have a strategic and organized approach to using social media platforms to be transparent and to mutually benefit the organization and the community they serve.

There are several ways law enforcement agencies can use social media to increase transparency. However, to do this, agencies must recognize the important role that public information officers (PIOs) play. PIOs are responsible for managing the agency’s public image and communicating with the public and media. They serve as the liaison between the agency and the community, helping to build trust and transparency. The role of the law enforcement PIO has evolved into serving as an expert storyteller and the voice of the profession across multiple platforms.

By providing accurate and timely information, PIOs can help to prevent misinformation or rumors from spreading and can build public trust by being transparent about police activities. In addition to managing external communications, PIOs also play an important role in internal communications. Transparency impacts not only external relationships but internal ones as well. Agencies that prioritize transparency will see an internal shift with better engagement from employees and the fostering of an environment that leads to improved decision-making.

Social Media Strategies

For online outreach to be effective, agencies must understand how best to communicate directly with their community using social media and plan accordingly.

There are several different types of strategies that organizations can use to increase the effectiveness of social media.

1. 1. 1. Content strategy: This involves creating a plan for the types of content to be posted on social media platforms, including the topics, tone, and format of posts. A content strategy should be tailored to target the immediate community within the geographical boundaries of the agency and align with the agency’s goals for using social media.
      2. Engagement strategy: This involves developing a plan for engaging with followers and building relationships on social media. An engagement strategy may include responding to comments and messages, participating in online conversations, and sharing user-generated content.
      3. Advertising strategy: This involves creating a plan for paid advertising on social media platforms. An advertising strategy can include targeted ads and sponsored posts designed to reach specific audiences and promote the agency’s messaging.
      4. Analytics strategy: This involves using social media analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of social media efforts and gain insights into audience behavior and preferences. An analytics strategy can help agencies adjust their social media usage to better meet their goals and more effectively reach their community.
      5. Public relations (PR) crisis management strategy: This involves creating a plan for how to handle negative or controversial content or situations on social media platforms. A PR crisis management strategy should include guidelines for responding to negative comments, addressing issues within the community, and handling public relations crises.
      6. Community influencer strategy: This involves working with members of the community that have a strong social media presence and can promote the values of the agency. Community influencers can also help agencies reach new audiences within the community and model a community-police partnership.
      7. Employee advocacy strategy: This involves encouraging and empowering employees to share content about the agency on their personal social media accounts. An employee advocacy strategy can help amplify the agency’s message and increase its reach and credibility. This approach also helps in storytelling and humanizing the badge.

Agencies should use their PIOs to develop and implement communication strategies for social media campaigns. By facilitating communication and collaboration within the agency, PIOs can help to improve the overall effectiveness of the agency. A social media strategy should be tailored to the agency’s specific goals, community, and resources. A well-designed strategy can help agencies effectively use social media to be more transparent and build stronger relationships with their communities.

Enhancing Transparency

Through social media and storytelling, agencies have a unique ability to not only display transparency when it comes to facts, statistics, and data, but also to allow the mission, vision, and values of an agency to be easy to observe and understand. Agencies accomplish this by using social media platforms to tell their stories. The challenge is that storytelling requires skills and resources. One could argue that using social media to be transparent and tell the agency’s story is no less important than the professionalism of a responding patrol officer.

Agencies should prioritize sharing behind-the-scenes content, such as training exercises or “day-in-the-life” videos, to give the public a better understanding of what police officers do daily. They can also use social media to share data and statistics on crime rates, arrests, and use-of-force incidents. By providing information regarding the agency’s activities, they show the public that the agency is open to accountability. Through all these strategies, it is important to remember the goals, one of which should be connecting with the community. Consider hosting live Q&A sessions on social media platforms, where the PIO, chief, or another agency member can answer questions from the public in real time. This allows for direct engagement with the community and can help to address concerns or misconceptions about the agency or law enforcement.

Included in this should be an effort to show how the agency reflects the community it serves. Show diversity within the agency, such as highlighting officers from different backgrounds or cultures. Highlighting the agency’s diversity can help to build trust with underrepresented communities and show that the agency values diversity and inclusion. Finally, take advantage of the influence that community members have—collaborate with community partners, such as local businesses or community groups, to create joint social media campaigns that promote transparency and community engagement.

In doing all of this, leadership must also remember the main goal: transparency through sharing their story in a manner that is heard by the community. While social media might be a competition of “likes” for many people, the only goal of law enforcement agencies should be reaching the community. Social media isn’t about going viral or having a certain number of likes. It’s about engagement where the agency serves.

Data analytics will help agencies determine how best to reach their stakeholders. For some, it might be creative videos on TikTok. For others, it might mean being active on Facebook or posting self-recorded videos. Make no mistake though, it will look different for different agencies. For instance, utilizing Facebook as a primary modality for community engagement via social media on a college campus is not very effective in comparison to Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. For other agencies, Facebook might be the primary platform to use. For example, The Bath Township Police Department in Michigan uses Facebook to good effect. The agency has a clear and unique voice on their Facebook page; when you look at their engagement and analytics, it’s clear this approach works for their community.

Being transparent on social media can be done by having policies that align with the chosen strategy but should also address issues like releasing facts and information, including body-worn and in-car camera video of police engagement. In addition to those policies, the agency must prioritize releasing those details in an efficient and timely manner. For some agencies that requires developing a timeline. Could the agency publish the video in less than 48 hours? Could a walk-through narration, using a voice that has a trusted and reliable reputation within the community, be prepared in less than 72 hours? How does that policy impact strategy? For example, the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department released body camera footage within hours of the shooting death of Ma’Khia Bryant. They chose to do this by directly releasing it to the media, and then sharing it on YouTube. Direct releases work as a strategy, but the agency needs to have a plan on how to do that before the need arises.

Community members care about what is happening in their communities. They care about the type of policing, but they also care about the crime—and more importantly, they care about the root causes of the crime. Social media not only gives law enforcement the platform to be transparent about police interactions, but it provides a direct outlet to show communities the root causes of the crimes and issues agencies face every day. One could even argue that by accomplishing this, police departments are enlisting their communities to be active bystanders and partners in how law enforcement addresses these root causes. What better way to foster the idea of community policing than to use social media to be more transparent?

When agencies are transparent, they show a willingness to share information and engage in open dialogue with others. Transparency fosters trust. It demonstrates that the police have nothing to hide and are committed to being honest and forthright. Transparency also promotes credibility, as it allows others to evaluate the decisions and actions of individuals or agencies in a clear and objective manner. The best part about this concept is that agencies do not need to build new platforms to do this; the platforms already exist. Creative use of social media to connect with the community will increase transparency, maintain public safety, and build and enhance trust with the communities they serve.

Please cite as

Jesse Carr, “Social Media Strategies for Transparency,” Police Chief Online, July 6, 2023.