Policing is always a difficult and dangerous profession. Policemen and officers risk their lives to maintain order in the society. In the past, the risks posed were more specific and definable. Now these risks have undergone a quantum change. The Internet has brought in challenges of different proportions and dimensions.
The web has become an energetic venue for hands-on, proactive and often vehement interaction. From the early days of newsgroups to the introduction of video chat, social media has changed the way we communicate, gather and share information, and has given rise to a connected global society.
The nature of social media and responsibilities of police makes things particularly unpredictable. The personal image of an officer is an essential prerequisite for efficient law enforcement. Through social media, anyone can attack a police officer’s character. Notwithstanding their accuracy, negative comments create a lasting impression.
The widespread agitation for Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu in 2017 is an example of the reach and power of social media. A perceived affront to the state’s cultural ethos incited the hitherto quiet population. Through social media, a minor incident can become a rallying cry, an unexpected issue can become the weapon for a cause and a gathering that normally brings in a paltry crowd can pool in thousands. A private, provocative speech by anyone against a group, caste or religion can lead to unexpected law and order trouble.
The structure of social media encourages self-promotion. It offers easy access to an unlimited pool of “friends”. People who crave endorsement to their everyday activities can achieve a feeling of connection not available in their offline lives. Individuals who have a desire for notoriety or fame are enticed. To get noticed, they post compelling, amusing and often provocative information.
Constraints do not exist for social media users. The anonymous environment can encourage provocative conduct. Individuals sometimes create new identities that allow them to act outside their normal inhibitions. Anonymity hampers efforts to control these actions.
Social media considerably reduces the personal space and privacy of the police. People forget that the uniformed are men and women from the same society. The availability of cameras in mobile phones has become a game changer. No incident is hidden from the public eye. Negative images are more often captured and highlighted than positive ones. Even minor incidents are instantly broadcast to a worldwide audience. These in turn result in that particular policing act becoming a never-ending topic.
Police in many parts of India are experimenting with social media. The focus is mainly on using platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for disseminating information to the public about crime-related issues, crime prevention programmes and police department activities. The social media handle is also used to gather information from the public. In many instances, the approach by the police tends to miss a crucial part of the issue. While law enforcement agencies are concerned with minimising the negative impact caused by social media, they often fail to gauge the impact caused by social media on its uniformed staff.
As social media has now given protesters the ability to easily and quickly communicate with each other, the police must know how to monitor them in order to gauge the mood of a crowd, evaluate whether threats of criminal activity are emerging and stay acquainted with any plans by large groups of people. The best defence against any threat is to recognise it early and identify ways to strengthen police countermeasures. Inaction can cause the issue to blow up to unmanageable proportions.
Experts urge the police to “get their feet wet” and begin the process of learning how the new platforms can help them do their jobs. An efficient social media strategy that focuses on the potential rewards of using social media and mitigating its risks is the need of the hour. The use of such platforms by protesters should be part of police planning for mass demonstrations. Interrupting the Internet and mobile phone coverage for a specific period is an option being used in some places with great success.
Social networks present risks that law enforcement agencies must acknowledge. Hoping that large-scale impact will not occur does not lessen the costs when they do; proactively addressing the possibility will. The police must also consider how their own actions are reported to the public through social media. As any action taken in public by a police officer may be recorded on a mobile device and uploaded online, the police have to always behave in public as if they are being recorded, because that very well may be the case.
The strategic challenges of monitoring social networks and transforming huge amounts of data into actionable intelligence can be a daunting task. There are social media alerts that provide an e-mail notification any time a specified word is mentioned or searched online. Many search engines offer these services free of charge. The tools offered save time and make monitoring easy. They will help police keep tab of a sudden spurt in a specific communication.
It can be cost effective to develop solutions after problems occur, rather than taking deterrent actions that might not prove necessary. The trouble with this approach is that the connection between the police and social media is precarious. Social networks generate energy, and police responses provide stimulus for that energy. The protests for Jallikattu are an example of how social media has forever changed the social and political discourse in the country.
Dr A Amalraj
Commissioner of Police, Trichy City
Email: amalraj8575@yahoo.co.in