Are you talking to me? A qualitative study of Facebook use by two police forces

Walkington, Zoe; Pike, Graham; Strathie, Ailsa; Havard, Catriona; Ness, Hayley and Harrison, Virginia (2024). Are you talking to me? A qualitative study of Facebook use by two police forces. In: 2024 Conference of The Association of Psychology and Law, 10-12 Jul 2024, Caparica, Portugal.

Abstract

Despite social media use by the police increasing in recent years, little qualitative attention has been paid to how online spaces such as Facebook might be important sites for Police Force identity. Such sites warrant research interest as they may play an important role in trust-building and community engagement between Police and the citizens they serve. This presentation qualitatively analyses two stories told (prior to the pandemic) on the official police Facebook sites of a rural and an urban police force. The research explores the collaborative ways in which stories were positioned and constructed collectively by multiple narrators (both formal police posts, and the commenting public). The research found that entitlement to tell particular stories was challenged by the community and raised important questions regarding the perceived ownership of experiences in the criminal justice system.

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