Policing and Social Media: Social Control in an Era of Digital Media investigates various public aspects of the management, use, and control of social media by police agencies in Canada. This book aims to illustrate the process by which information technology-namely, social media-and related changes in communication formats have affected the public face of policing and police work. Christopher J. Schneider argues that police use of social media has altered institutional public police practices in a manner that is consistent with the logic of social media platforms: policing is changing to include new ways of conditioning the public, cultivating self-promotion, and expanding social control. Every chapter in this second edition has been updated with contemporary examples and analysis. Each case study presented here focuses on a different social media platform or format while at the same time developing suitable analytical and methodological approaches for understanding contemporary policing practices on social media sites.
Industry Reviews
"Christopher J. Schneider's foundational book deals with ongoing changes that have punctuated the last few years in public-facing police work on social media. This second edition provides updated and revised materials and suggests what might emerge related to the continued police adaptation of digital media. This book is a must read. Schneider's book gives us a pathway for teaching the evolution of policing on social media." -- Peter K. Manning, senior fellow at the Garfinkel Archive "A revised and updated edition of Policing and Social Media is hugely to be welcomed. The first edition was an outstanding success, filling something of a void in the field. Since its arrival the importance of this subject has only grown, being central both to practical policing, to its representation, and to the understanding and consumption of police services by citizens. The addition of new material on social media such as TikTok brings this volume right up to date and consolidates its position as leader in the field." -- Tim Newburn, professor of criminology and social policy, London School of Economics "The second edition of Christopher J. Schneider's groundbreaking book takes studies of the complex symbiosis between police and media into the era of Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and importantly now, TikTok. The multiple perspectives of its case studies reveal how the logic of social media continues to transform police practices, not only creating new challenges for police, but also new openings for social control strategies." -- Aaron Doyle, Carleton University "This book is a critical read for students, researchers, police practitioners, and policymakers interested in understanding how social media impacts the police and policing strategies. The case studies detailed in the book prove that contemporary police reform efforts must reckon with the influence of social media." -- Xiaochen Hu, Fayetteville State University; author of Electronic Community-Oriented Policing