Social Media for Community Oriented Policing

Best Practices from Around the World and Future Challenges

Abstract

Information Communication Technologies and particularly social media have influenced policing in the past decade significantly. New opportunities for communication and image building are especially promising for Community Oriented Policing (COP). The article sketches out some of the main developments in that field of policing illustrated by numerous case examples from around the world. Besides best practices, the potential risks and challenges in form of enhanced surveillance, breaches of privacy and different forms vigilantism are briefly analysed. A special focus will be put on the possibilities social media tools may offer to create collaborative forms of security production in developing and post-conflict countries. The article gives an overview of the current state of research on the topic.