How Does Social Media Affect Police

Social media has become a platform that can be accessed by virtually anyone, at any given moment and time. Social media brings forth insight on what is happening in our local communities, and events occurring in other countries; however, the problem with social media is that it can be manipulated by the broadcasting companies as they’re allowed to upload content that they feel is important. This leaves to a bias for the viewers, as they’re only shown what the media wants them to see, whether it is positive or negative- social media acts as a major important component in the lives of people to understand what is going on in the world. Social media in Canada can have both negative and positive effects on the criminal justice system in Canada,
Social media’s influence on the community is greatly determined on what the users decide to post that is to be shared with others. This can lead to both a positive and negative effect on policing as it emphasizes greater exposure towards local police departments. Having police officers exposed to social media can be a positive thing as it shows the local communities what the police officers are doing for the community, and the events that are taking place around the community. As well, having media exposure to the public often enables the police to set up a image for themselves, be it good or bad, to show the public that they are serving and protecting the local communities that entrust them with the enforcement of the laws. As such, with the popularity of social media growing everyday, people are more immersed with perceptions of what the police are and what they do for the public based on what they view through social media. Social media has also benefitted the criminal justice system as Social networking has rapidly become a valuable intelligence gathering tool for law enforcement agencies, as well as sources of evidence for defense and prosecution personnel who search Facebook pages, Twitter feeds or YouTube videos seeking to discredit witnesses, establishing law enforcement bias, track down evidence or even