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Inside the NYPD's Attempt To Build Community Trust Through Twitter (backchannel.com)
mirandakatz writes: When the NYPD rolled out its Twitter presence a couple years back, it didn't go so smoothly: the @NYPDNews account tweeted a request: 'Do you have a photo with a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD,' and by midnight the same day, more than 70,000 people had responded decrying police brutality. At Backchannel, Susan Crawford looks at the department's attempt to use Twitter to rebuild community trust, noting that while the NYPD has a long ways to go, any opening up of communication is an improvement on the traditionally tight-lipped culture.
They're currently reaching about 10% of the city's population, tweeting pictures of "wanted" suspects and sharing information on recent criminal activity, as the police commissioner describes shifting their mindset from "warrior" to guardian.
They're currently reaching about 10% of the city's population, tweeting pictures of "wanted" suspects and sharing information on recent criminal activity, as the police commissioner describes shifting their mindset from "warrior" to guardian.
Stop breaking the laws you are supposed to uphold, you fucks.
Sure, but you have to realize that institutional cultures do not change overnight.
There have been big problems with many big-city US police departments, but if they are sincere about "... shifting their mindset from 'warrior' to guardian", that's something that'll unfold over time, not like a light switch.
The fact is that it sounds like a move in the right direction. The fact is also that it's never going to be perfect, so if you are intend on finding problems, you will always have some to find. But degree matters. One-off isolated things are not comparable to systemic and ubiquitous problems.