Social Media as Unofficial Police Communication Channel During Crises
During the COVID-19 pandemic, police in rural and suburban areas of Croatia frequently used social media for citizen communication, despite its unofficial status and infrastructure limitations.
Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation) · 2023
Key Findings
- 01Police officers frequently used social media to communicate with citizens at the citizens' request.
- 02This social media usage was not an officially defined method of police communication at the time.
- 03Significant obstacles included insufficient technological infrastructure and lack of internet access.
- 04There is a need for clear work guidelines for digital communication to prevent confusion and resistance.
- 05Guidelines and communication protocols between public services are necessary to avoid misinformation.
Application
Design takeaway
When designing communication systems for public services, anticipate the need for flexibility and the potential for informal adoption of new platforms, especially during emergencies. Ensure robust infrastructure support and clear operational guidelines.
How to apply
When developing emergency communication plans for public services, include provisions for leveraging social media and other readily accessible digital platforms, while simultaneously planning for infrastructure upgrades and clear policy development.
Project actions
- 01When researching communication tools, consider how they are used in real-world, often unplanned, situations.
- 02Investigate the gap between official policy and actual practice, especially during times of crisis.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Addresses a timely and relevant issue of digital communication in public services.
- +Provides qualitative insights into practical challenges faced by frontline workers.
Limitations
The findings are specific to the context of police in Croatia during COVID-19 and may not apply universally. The qualitative nature means results are interpretive.
Reliability & validity
The qualitative nature of focus groups provides rich data but may have limited generalizability. Reliability could be enhanced by using multiple researchers to analyze transcripts independently.
Think critically
To what extent should official communication strategies be designed to accommodate or even proactively integrate informal digital channels that emerge organically during crises?
Design Principles
"Embrace emergent communication channels and user-driven adoption in crisis scenarios, but formalize and support them with clear protocols and adequate infrastructure."
This highlights the rapid adoption of emergent communication tools in response to user needs, even when formal protocols are lacking. It underscores the importance of understanding how technology is leveraged in practice and the potential for informal channels to become critical during periods of disruption.
What This Means for Your Design
Police sometimes used social media to talk to people during COVID-19, even though they weren't supposed to and the internet wasn't great. This shows that official rules need to catch up with how people actually communicate.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing the challenges of implementing new communication technologies in public services or when exploring user-driven adoption of digital platforms.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
(2023). Digital communication of police officers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation). https://doi.org/10.2507/ijva.9.2.3.104 Retrieved from https://designdex.org/study/ed3bf73a-a8a0-419e-b19a-2fd19c598bcd/social-media-as-unofficial-police-communication-channel-during-crises
Paragraph starter
Research by Radić (2023) indicates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, law enforcement in certain regions adopted social media for citizen communication despite a lack of official guidelines and infrastructural challenges. This highlights the dynamic nature of communication tool adoption in crisis situations and the subsequent need for organizational adaptation and policy development.
Source
Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation)
Digital communication of police officers during the Covid-19 pandemic
journal · 2023
View sourceQuestions about this research
- What does the research say about social media as unofficial police communication channel during crises?
- When designing communication systems for public services, anticipate the need for flexibility and the potential for informal adoption of new platforms, especially during emergencies. Ensure robust infrastructure support and clear operational guidelines. Evidence: Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation) (2023).
- Why does "Social Media as Unofficial Police Communication Channel During Crises" matter for design?
- This highlights the rapid adoption of emergent communication tools in response to user needs, even when formal protocols are lacking. It underscores the importance of understanding how technology is leveraged in practice and the potential for informal channels to become critical during periods of disruption.
- How can designers apply this research?
- When designing communication systems for public services, anticipate the need for flexibility and the potential for informal adoption of new platforms, especially during emergencies. Ensure robust infrastructure support and clear operational guidelines.
- What were the main findings?
- Police officers frequently used social media to communicate with citizens at the citizens' request.. This social media usage was not an officially defined method of police communication at the time.. Significant obstacles included insufficient technological infrastructure and lack of internet access.. There is a need for clear work guidelines for digital communication to prevent confusion and resistance.
- What research method was used?
- Qualitative research using focus groups. with 10 participants.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2023 journal from Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation).
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When developing emergency communication plans for public services, include provisions for leveraging social media and other readily accessible digital platforms, while simultaneously planning for infrastructure upgrades and clear policy development.
- What are the limitations?
- The study is specific to rural and suburban Croatia and may not be generalizable to other regions or contexts. The focus was on police communication, not necessarily the citizens' perspective on receiving it.
- Is there evidence that communication affects design outcomes?
- Police officers often turned to social media for citizen communication during the pandemic, even without official sanction and despite poor internet access, revealing a need for clear digital communication policies. This highlights the rapid adoption of emergent communication tools in response to user needs, even when Source: Vallis Aurea (Journal of Sustainable Development and Innovation) (2023).
- Where does this social media research apply?
- Law enforcement communication during a public health crisis (COVID-19 pandemic). It sits within innovation & design research on designdex.org.
Related research topics
communication design research · evidence on communication · does communication improve design outcomes · social media studies for designers · communication and social media findings · innovation & design research evidence