Date of Award

12-21-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Molly Smith

Abstract

This study used a qualitative research design to analyze how the Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) utilizes social media technologies to promote its community policing philosophy. I conducted a content analysis on 586 tweets by LRPD and 992 public responses posted between May 2020 and May 2021. From my analysis, I found that LRPD social media platforms support both community policing and problem-solving. LRPD uses social media for interactions, connections, and partnerships with community members. The second notable finding was that the public is responsive and receptive to LRPD’s use of social media to connect with them. However, LRPD’s level of interaction with the public is somewhat deficient because of several factors discussed in this study. The findings from this study indicate social media is a useful tool for law enforcement to communicate to citizens, and findings may be used to guide agency social media policies.

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