“Had to pause the TV to read all the #VicPDLive-tweets”1: A Critical Analysis of Police Live Tweet-Alongs

Abstract

Since the middle to late 2000s, there has been a steady rise in the use of social media platforms by police departments across Canada and internationally. Studies conducted on policing and social media conceptualize police use of social media platforms in three ways: instrumental (i.e., used as tools); representational (i.e., used to strengthen image work); and technosocial (i.e., used to mediate the perception of, relationship to, and engagement with crime and justice). In proposing a case study of live-tweeting, using the live-tweeting hashtag of the Victoria Police Department (#VicPDLive), we are hoping to show that while image work remains a core motive for using social media platforms, police departments are also experimenting with new high engagement practices that require closer analysis. We begin the paper by briefly summarizing the literature on policing and social media, and providing an overview of research specific to Twitter. Then, we turn to the case study and introduce three vignettes problematizing live-tweeting of what we call “health work,” “crime work,” and “justice work.” Finally, we combine our disciplinary perspectives to analyze the broader implications of live-tweeting and identify practical concerns related to privacy, transparency, and accountability.