PSNI Use of Social Media

majgreen

Im interested to find out what peoples opinions are of the PSNI's use of social media. What do you like to see/read? What dont you like to see/read? What could be better? What pages do you follow? (I know, Craigavon is the most popular!)
In an age where we're more in tune with technology than our bodies (wow, that was deep...) do you think its important for the PSNI to get tech savvy?

NiK9

I no longer have facebook so don't see alot of the stuff on it, unless I use the partners to be nosey on the psni pages.
I follow their Instagram though and do genuinely find it good. I do think it is important, as it allows psni to connect with a wider portion of the population.
Seems that things related to dog section get the best response since most of the country can relate to loving dogs, no matter their political beliefs etc.

Goonerdee

I think they are doing a brilliant job on social media, having a laugh as well as sharing important information keeps their followers connected as well as showing a human side to the PSNI. I think it helps make them more approachable.

Homer01

I always enjoyed the posts showing the college but they have been few and far between.

notbrazil

It mostly ranges from unnecessary to embarrassing. Facebook is the ultimate forum for thick people to spew verbal diarrhoea about things that they know absolutely nothing about. PSNI posts are a red rag to a bull for thick people. Most posts are just an opportunity for people to moan about the police. If I were the Chief Con I'd close all the Facebook accounts and just have one for witness appeals.

jwhdkl5736

'M' from PSNI Craigavon seems to be decent enough! It's a pity he runs a regional page rather than the whole shabang.

Banterbus28

notbrazil wrote: »

It mostly ranges from unnecessary to embarrassing. Facebook is the ultimate forum for thick people to spew verbal diarrhoea about things that they know absolutely nothing about. PSNI posts are a red rag to a bull for thick people. Most posts are just an opportunity for people to moan about the police. If I were the Chief Con I'd close all the Facebook accounts and just have one for witness appeals.

Not one for banter and a bit of craic are you lol

majgreen

Maxi515 wrote: »

'M' from PSNI Craigavon seems to be decent enough! It's a pity he runs a regional page rather than the whole shabang.

He certainly is, his posts generate a lot of interaction, however there are times where he treads a thin and lonely line. I'll be surprised if he's never had any ombudsman complaints about his posts lolq

majgreen

notbrazil wrote: »

It mostly ranges from unnecessary to embarrassing. Facebook is the ultimate forum for thick people to spew verbal diarrhoea about things that they know absolutely nothing about. PSNI posts are a red rag to a bull for thick people. Most posts are just an opportunity for people to moan about the police. If I were the Chief Con I'd close all the Facebook accounts and just have one for witness appeals.

Some posts are bad and some are awkward. Sadly, no matter what we do, or where we share it, there are always moronic people who want to pass comment. There are always anti-police people who will take any opportunity to vent. Most of them get shut down by other members of the public, some are responded to directly by officers monitoring the accounts. The simple fact of the matter is that the social media reach for each individual district, and the opportunity to engage with people is much more benefitial than a few derrogatory comments from a few idiots...

majgreen

Homer01 wrote: »

I always enjoyed the posts showing the college but they have been few and far between.

They are pretty insightful for people looking to join. Im not sure who posts them but its a shame its not as regular as it started out to be. Other suggestions i've seen is updates from the CDO's in Musgrave about their day-to-day jobs.
If you havent already, then get on YouTube and check out Miami Police Vlogs... They are amazing, really good insight and has really generated them good publicity!

NiK9

Unfortunately with our society I think the biggest thing holding back the social media side is personal security. Even when psni had the dance off against the garda alot of the psni taking part had faces covered etc.
It's hard to get personal interaction with daily videos or tour of vehicles etc when the people making the vids may be worried about showing their face.
Walking the street in your district is one thing but having your face in a uniform for hundreds of thousands to see on Facebook is a diff story.
That's what I think is holding PSNI social media back compared to other police forces.

majgreen

NiK9 wrote: »

Unfortunately with our society I think the biggest thing holding back the social media side is personal security. Even when psni had the dance off against the garda alot of the psni taking part had faces covered etc.
It's hard to get personal interaction with daily videos or tour of vehicles etc when the people making the vids may be worried about showing their face.
Walking the street in your district is one thing but having your face in a uniform for hundreds of thousands to see on Facebook is a diff story.
That's what I think is holding PSNI social media back compared to other police forces.

Absolutely agree. You'll also see that nearly all posts are signed by a Constable M, or BC etc. People dont want their full names on display either. But if done properly, and if the exposure was correct then I'm sure there would be someone willing to have their faces shown. At the end of the day senior officers are constantly in the press and are at no more risk than any of the rest of us!

shanevendrell

The guy who does PSNI Foyle regularly posts his face and full name and has done numerous radio and newspaper interviews.

I admire his courage and his desire to normalise and humanise that at the end of the day it's just every day people doing the job.

Banterbus28

Balls of steel that man

jwhdkl5736

Can I just ask has the policy RE: videoing police officers been relaxed? Previously, you were almost guaranteed to have your camera seized for videoing police, for gathering information likely to be of use to terrorists.

Now, dissident republican's freely document and archive all stop and searches in Derry to the point where I think I know GOWISELY inside out myself lol.

majgreen

Maxi515 wrote: »

Can I just ask has the policy RE: videoing police officers been relaxed? Previously, you were almost guaranteed to have your camera seized for videoing police, for gathering information likely to be of use to terrorists.

Now, dissident republican's freely document and archive all stop and searches in Derry to the point where I think I know GOWISELY inside out myself lol.

Essentially there is no policy or legislation. In a public place anyone can record or take images. However powers do exist under PACE and Terrorism Act to seize mobiles in certain situations. I can't answer why it hasn't been some, that's down to the officers to justify

notbrazil

Maxi515 wrote: »

Can I just ask has the policy RE: videoing police officers been relaxed? Previously, you were almost guaranteed to have your camera seized for videoing police, for gathering information likely to be of use to terrorists.

Now, dissident republican's freely document and archive all stop and searches in Derry to the point where I think I know GOWISELY inside out myself lol.

The law hasn't changed, just the interpretation. I believe it has been tested in court. The Met police published guidance basically saying that anyone can film the police and that it's not in of itself a breach of the Terrorism Act, which is a UK-wide law. The Met always ruin things.

majgreen

Rumour has it that there will be new legistlation in place to protect police from being filmed. I dont see how it will work but im sure we'll soon see

jwhdkl5736

majgreen wrote: »

Rumour has it that there will be new legistlation in place to protect police from being filmed. I dont see how it will work but im sure we'll soon see

I think its certainly more feasible now police wear body cams. Now there is always an objective reference point during confrontational situations like a 24/3 stop and search. Maybe if the public or their lawyers were allowed to make subject access requests for the footage with faces possibly redacted it might suit everyone.

takodah

The psni is a public service. From a service point of view more and more service users (the public) are interacting online. The psni are even moving aspects of reporting crime and getting information online.

A lot of government, statuary services and the voluntary sector are moving with the times and engaging with their service users in the way they see best. I think Facebook is another way of doing this.

From a youth Work point of view it is very good for young people to see what the police are doing. The amount of young people enguaging in the posts is amazing.