Impact Of Social Media On Law Enforcement

There are many different issues that come to one’s mind when thinking about law enforcement, but one that may go unnoticed is social media. When thinking about any type of issues, the thought process is to push forward with what is already happening at the current time. Though, what if there are factors that have been around for a long time, but in reality no one talks about it until the ordeal seems to be out of hand and the community’s outrage can’t be tamed. There are always stories that leak faster on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook than they do from the local law enforcement agencies where a person may live. The story does not even have to be local, nationwide news scandals are something that tend to be spread at a faster rate on social

This is a major issue that does not allow for there to be trust between civilians and law enforcement, the people will tend to think that the police are hiding information from them or trying to cover something up. There have been many stories that seem to have been cracked wide open because social media has taken a different approach and look at things that police do not look at, the different perspective and approach could allow for these two forces to work in harmony.

Social media is defined as “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking;” it is a multifaceted platform in which individuals connect. Law Enforcement is defined as “the action or activity of compelling observance of or compliance with the law;” these two terms are not something that would normally work together. Though sometimes they do work hand-in-hand and other times they are adversaries, battling to allow the truth to be seen. To find the balance between these two issues, first, there needs to be an understanding of how the two impact each

Predominantly with social media it allows for those who don’t have a voice to speak out when in situations where they feel as though their full thoughts have not been heard or they can’t find the words to say what they need; “one reason, undoubtedly, that so many users flock to social media is that they are ideal venues for spontaneous and informal communication with seemingly sympathetic audiences,” social media users are looking for understanding. Twitter is a good example of other individuals having the words that someone else wants to say, but it is phrased better by someone else. Something as simple as “ when someone is looking for something i help by saying ‘it’s gotta be around here somewhere,” this tweet was made by an account by the name of @tuckonthis. This is something so simple but extremely relatable, which is what social media wants every single user they have to be able to feel, related to. The ethical issues with social media is how far is too far when it comes to relating and sharing of information when it comes to also being lawful and not invasively