AN American criminologist is encouraging law enforcement officials and governments to incorporate social media into their crime fighting strategies, given its prominent use worldwide.

“Social media networks and the Internet are the new frontier of our community and also crime,” Dr Daniel Isom, a professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri, St Louis, told guests at Crime Stop’s 25th anniversary awards banquet and Eisenhower day of fellowship at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston last Saturday.

He said there is a need for technology solutions, on-the-ground and cyber intelligence in law enforcement, all elements he believes will have a significant impact in law enforcement.

The professor highlighted that the far-reaching nature of social media could be advantageous to law enforcers in their fight against crime.

“Phones, tweets and other information can relate real time to law enforcement agencies or later to follow up on investigations.

He added that the law enforcers can use this avenue to disseminate information to citizens in an effort to keep them safe and informed.

Making reference to the death of Mike Brown, an African/American who was killed by police officers last year in Ferguson, Missouri, the professor said the way the situation was handled depicted “the need for law enforcement to be more thoughtful and intentional about establishing claims that immediately draw the demand of social media.”

According to Dr Isom, there is need for a change in the profession of law enforcement in light of the fact that societal roles around reporting and communication have changed dramatically. This, he said, became popular in the death of Mike Brown — an occurrence which went viral on social media.

“Every person now with a blog, a Twitter account, Facebook or Instagram became a reporter during Ferguson. They were reporting alongside traditional media outlets. Social media has expanded opportunities for reporting in the public space. Citizens are legitimate reporters now,” Isom stated.

“This means that much more information is being spread unfiltered, without fact-checking to the public. Everyday information is being reported to the general public about government actions, police operations, crime and corruption,” he added.

Isom said that as a result of this, new media can have a grave impact on the reputation, trust and legitimacy of government and law enforcement organisations. As such, he said, law enforcement and government officials need to become active users of the media platform.

“Government and law enforcement organisations must be constantly connected to the stories and the narratives of the day,” he said. “Being a part of these social media networks is extremely important… having a structure to respond provides an opportunity to correct or clarify the record.”

The establishment of an effective feedback loop on social media networks for the organisations is a necessity, Isom said, adding that the personnel and the resources to accomplish this task are critical.

“The lesson that we learned in Ferguson is that information is so freely obtained and disseminated today, all agencies must assume that nothing is secret,” he warned.

“First, you must ensure that you have an organisational culture that fosters doing the right thing because everyone is watching, and second, when it’s legally and professionally possible, immediate transparency is the best policy,” he said.

In 25 years of service, the Crime Stop initiative has seen the arrrest of 2,340 suspects.

At last Saturday’s event, the organisation awarded individuals and organisations that have been consistent contributors over the years.

Guests also witnessed the unveiling of Crime Stop’s artistic representation of the ‘unknown tipster’, a piece which will be travelling around the country to promote Crime Stop.