When I was taking notes in Alyce’s last lecture on Monday (18/10/10), I wrote the name Adam Purcell, with an asterisk and “USE FOR LAST BLOG”. This name I have not heard of until that day, I became intrigued and have intently researched him ever since. As Chan et al. said “internet technologies have transformed the nature of mass media” (2010, p. 582). Not only am I able to gain up-to-date recent articles surrounding Purcell, but numerous photos, and personal information all at the click of a button. Chan et al. (2010) also highlights how the advancements of the internet have greatly affected criminal justice agencies such as police, courts and government organisations. For this blog, the NSW police force in relation to new media will be the explicit example analysed. Marsh and Melville outline the mass media’s revolution of information because of the proliferation of the internet (2008, p. 155).
The emergence of new media in relation to NSW Police can be seen through their active engagement with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which helps identify suspects. In terms of national comparison they are leading the way in direct regard to their popularity and support throughout Facebook has increased at such a rapid pace, they now have a general NSW Police Force page (which as at 22/10/10, they had 20,953 followers) and a NSW Police Homicide Squad page (which as at 22/10/10, they had 2,534 followers). With the Head of Public Affairs running the Twitter site and the Head of Corporate Communications running their Facebook site, obviously new media are having some beneficial outcomes for the Police Force, as resources would not be spent facilitating these forms of new media otherwise.
Research being concurrently conducted by McGovern et al. surrounding key stakeholders within NSW Police Force; suggest that Police utilize new media to their benefit in the following ways; as a way of reaching communities, and especially youths. As a means of giving and receiving information to and from public that would otherwise be transferred throughout a media outlet such as a press release, radio updates or even a breaking news segment. The dissemination of information is instantaneous through the internet and therefore the Police can update the public on a more regular basis. Operational benefits, being that longer duration of time and space can be given to stories rather than a brief 30sec clip on the news. And lastly, the Police Force make use of new media as a direct way of calculating public relations in terms of how they are represented, what they are doing and the ongoing benefits to the wider community.
References
Chan, J., Goggin, G. and Bruce, J., 2010, Internet technologies and criminal justice, in Jewkes, Y. and Yar, M., 2010, Handbook of internet crime, Willian Publishing, Devon, pp. 582-596.
Marsh, I. and Melville, G., 2008, Crime, justice and the media. Routledge, Milton Park and New York.
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I certainly agree with you that police forces can use new media such as networking websites to gauge their public relations image and indeed build on it. However, I think this is the most they can do, that is, I don't believe that unspecialised police officers (e.g. those not in a cybercrime division of a police force) can achieve any real law enforcement goals through websites like Facebook.
ReplyDeletePerhaps their "identification of suspects" can be limited to the dumb-dumb sort which explicitly posts their criminal intentions on the net. But what percentage of criminals does this? Very, very little I suspect.
This post also has me thinking about the importance of police symbolism. A symbol is simply meant to 'represent' something. A symbol does not need to actually do anything. Therefore, when thinking of police symbolism and their engagement in new media, they need to merely present themselves online with promises of crime control; they don't need to impress BOSCAR with any great statistics. This means that their presence online has the potential to reinforce their power and presence symbolically. In which case, it represents a perfectly symbiotic relationship.
Great post, btw!