PLUGGED-IN POLICING: STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT'S USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

As police become increasingly active in cyberspace, questions are raised as to how they should use social media. Community sentiment should be the foundation from which social media policy is forged. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined student attitudes toward law enforcement's use of social media and assessed demographic and attitudinal variables which were related to student perceptions. Overall, students significantly supported some social media scenarios more than others, and race, privacy expectations, and authoritarianism were related to student sentiment. From open-ended responses, prevalent themes emerged; for instance, students think police are only trying to do their jobs. Responses often also pointed out differences between private and public information and domains.