Police and the Social Media battlefield

Social media has proven to be a powerful weapon shaping the opinions and actions of today's society. Police departments are unarmed in the battle of public opinion, and some feeble attempts to engage in social media have been disappointingly unsuccessful. Developing training for a social media team is the first step in positive interaction with the community by including educators, internet technology experts, community leaders, attorneys, experienced officers, and police leadership. The restrictions in police policies for using social media predestines the effort useless. The police must engage in every area of social media with trained personnel and state of the art equipment guided by polices establishing integrity, accuracy, and above all truth. Active and positive social media platforms provide a room for citizens to meet and discuss issues with the police. Policies and training syllabuses can be created simultaneously to ensure the social media team, and the public knows the program's goals and how it will be achieved.