The Impact of Social Media on Perceptions of Law Enforcement

The Perceptions of Monmouth University Students on the Impact of Social Media on Attitudes
towards Law Enforcement
John Foye
CJ 490 02
Dr. Peter Liu

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14 December 2015
Abstract
This study’s purpose is to assess whether or not a social media presence by police
influence people’s perception of them. The dependent variable of this study, views on police in
America, is broken down into three dimensions. (D1) is law enforcement. (D2) is service (D3) is
order maintenance. There are two independent variables. The first independent variable is social
media sites used. It is broken down into two dimensions. (D1) is perceived amount, and (D2) is
perceived law enforcement activity. The second independent variable is previous interactions
with the police. It is broken down by two dimensions. (D1) is the type of interaction, and (D2) is
the outcome of the interaction. Other variables that will be examined include major, age, gender,
and socioeconomic status. This survey was administered to 101 random Monmouth University
students, and is completely anonymous. The responses were analyzed using the statistical
analyses the ANOVA test, or the Analysis-of-Variance test, and Chi-Square test.

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(1) Introduction and Statement of the Problem
In the last decade or so, social media has absolutely taken over the world. What was once
a novelty has become an absolute facet of everyday life. Citizens use social media every day for
multiple tasks. In fact, 57% of adults in the United States use Facebook, and 16% of adults in the
United States are Twitter users (King p. 6, 2015). People use social media sites like Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and other sites to connect across from somewhere as far as halfway
across the world, or as close as across town. These sites allow for personal information to be
shared across the medium, and for connections to be made. It has gotten to the point where social
media has overtaken other sources of information, making it one of the first places people see
their news and information. It makes sense then, that social media users would be some of the
first to see the issues between the police and minorities in cities like Baltimore, Maryland,
Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City, among others. Because of the rapid speed information
travels at over social media, news of what had happened in these cities travelled like wildfire,
and cries for justice were voiced. Nowadays, police have”… frequently aggravated the problem
of public ambivalence by becoming more militaristic, reactive, and secretive” (Flanagan and
Vaughn, 1996, 113-128). Social media has been a constant, and because of the rapid transfer of
information, there has been an influx of anti-police stigma, especially by the way of social
media.
In response, more and more police departments have created their own social media
accounts on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, to try and not converse with the
public and make announcements, but to also get their good deeds out there. Police departments

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are attempting to give the public a better perception of police in the face of a lack of police-
support around the country based off of a number of situations, which include police brutality
cases and an overall negative stigma. This research study will be undertaken to investigate
whether or not a positive social media presence influences others perceptions of police in a
positive way.
To get an accurate study, there are a number of variables that are being investigated. The
dependent variable of this study are the “views on police in America”, and there are three
variables that go along with it. Dimension 1 is law enforcement, with sub units of effectiveness
and fairness. The sub units of “effectiveness” and “fairness” are used to see if the respondent
feels that law enforcement is effective at doing their job, and also fair within the community.
Dimension 2 is service, with the same subunits of “effectiveness” and “fairness”, to get a gauge
on whether or not the respondents believe that the community service, or community benefits
programs the police conduct are effective. Dimension 3 is the Order maintenance, with the same
subunits of “effectiveness” and “fairness”, and it is used to see if respondents believe that police
are effective at maintaining order within the community, but also to see if the police are fair at
maintaining order.
There are two independent variables in this study, one of which is the “social media sites
used”. It is further broken down into two dimensions. (D1) is the perceived amount, and (D2) is
the perceived law enforcement related activity posted by police departments. The second
independent variable is “previous interactions”, also with two dimensions. (D1) of this
independent variable is the type of interaction, either negative or positive. (D2) is the outcome of
the interaction, also either negative or positive. These two independent variables and the

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dependent variable are both related as the amount of social media use an individuals has, coupled
with the perception one has of police based off of previous interactions, directly influences ones
perception of the police in America.
There are also two antecedent and control variables in this study. The first antecedent
variable is major, and the respondent will respond with their “major”, or area of study at
Monmouth University. The second antecedent variable is “socioeconomic status”, which is
looking to gauge the socioeconomic neighborhoods that the respondents come from, broken
down into low, medium, or high socioeconomic income neighborhoods. The two conditional
variables are “age” and “gender”. The first conditional variable is the age of those taking the
study. The ages of the respondents may vary, but they will all be in a certain range, as the
population sample is Monmouth University. The second conditional variable is the gender of the
respondent, either male or female. The idea behind using these variables is that based off of the
age, major and gender of the respondents, coupled with the socioeconomic area they are from,
will give a response that will support the hypothesis.
In response to the anti-police stigma in today’s society, along with the rampant social
media use the entire world, the scrutiny on police is at an all-time high. Because of the
prevalence of social media and the increase of an anti-police mentality, research has been done to
try and see if police departments are fixing the way they are conducting community relations.
Police departments today, are in fact, utilizing social media in their combatting of this anti-police
stigma. According to Rich Stanek (2013), “…Already 81 % of federal agencies, 71 % of state
agencies and 82% of local agencies are using social media”. This includes a variety of tasks,
such as “public relations, community outreach, soliciting crime tips, recruitment, and

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investigations & crime solving” (Stanek, 2013). Police departments are making a concerted
effort to improve their image to fit this new social media age.
Although there is adequate information based upon the use of social media in America,
and the use of social media to interact with the community, there has not been a study to see
whether or not the use of social media by police has influenced ones perception of police in
America. The relationship between the police in America and the public is seen all over social
media sites, where social media users can interact with others and comment and share posts
based off of what they see or believe. Through the documented effects of social media use,
previous interactions, and views of police in America today, along with the social control theory,
will show if whether or not the relationship between the police and citizens is influenced by the
social media sites used by police in America.
(II) Review of Literature and Theoretical Framework
Proposition 1: Monmouth University students who follow police departments on social
media are more likely to have a positive perception of police after following social media
accounts.

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Social media influences people’s perceptions of others. Today, any website that one
subscribes to is essentially their first news source, their first resource for information if
they are a social media user. Sometimes, in fact, social media sites are quicker to release
information before major news outlets are able to release it. A social media site is defined
as “web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile
within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a
connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within
the system”(Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Social media allows a free interaction of people and
the release of ideas that has never seen before. So it is no surprise that with the riots and
outrage that have happened in cities like Baltimore, New York City, or Ferguson, because
of police violence that this rapid flow of information has gone all around the world almost
instantaneously. Reports of violence and cries for justice swept the entire nation, with
social media being a huge proponent of that.
Social media, however, is becoming more and more friendly to the police. In fact, police
have begun to create their own social media pages on social networking sites like Twitter,
Facebook, and others. Ruddell and Jones states, “…there are two main purposes of social media
in law enforcement: aiding in criminal investigations and using these tools as platforms for
disseminating information as well as managing public opinion” (Ruddell and Jones, 2013).
Police are utilizing the technology used by the rest of the public. In the study done by Ruddell
and Jones (2013), data from 504 community residents and 314 college students was collected. It
was found that one in five citizens had visited the police departments website, as well as 6.9%
visiting their Twitter feed, and 5.4 visiting the departments Facebook page. It was also found that

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the younger generations enjoyed using social media and electronics better than the older
generations (Ruddell and Jones, 2013). Through this analysis, it makes sense to believe that
social media has an influence on citizens perceptions of police
A theory that helps explain this study, or explains the idea behind this study, is 69, the
Social Control Theory. Thought up by Travis Hirschi in 1969, the Social Control Theory has to
do with “…the bonds that people form to prosocial value, prosocial people, and prosocial
institutions” (Key Idea: Hirschi’s Social Bond/Social Control Theory, p. 58). This theory is
essentially stating that people do not commit crimes or conduct in anti-social behavior because of
the connections they have made. For this theory, the citizen and civilians in the neighborhood
would be the one being influenced by the police on social media. Whether or not it is directly or
indirectly, the social media aspect is definitely the driving force in today’s day and age. Instead
of direct or indirect contact with police in person, people today are more inclined to interact with
them through social media.
Proposition 2: Interaction with the community through social media leads to police and the
rest of the community to having a mutually beneficial relationship.
The use of social media to conduct community policing is a rather new thing, however
community policing is not. Community policing “…came about as a result of a desire to improve
upon the traditional policing model” (Scheider, Chapman, Schapiro, 2009, p. 695). The desire to
commit to community policing came from a time when the original ways of policing, which
included a rapid response time to the scene of a crime, investigations of crime, and arresting of
suspects. Community policing, overall, seeks “…to reconnect police to citizens and to encourage

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innovative, proactive, collaborative and strategic approaches to crime prevention” (Scheider,
Chapman, Schapiro, 2009, p. 695). The police’s use of social media today can be seen as a
modern day community policing.
Today, 81 % of federal agencies, 71 % of state agencies and 82% of local agencies are
using social media accounts (Stanek, 2013, p. 40). The use of social media is mutually beneficial
for all involved. According to Stanek, (2013), during the Boston bombing, thousands of hours of
footage was received from the public (p. 40). It detailed completely who had committed the
heinous acts, and set off a manhunt that led to the death of one perpetrator and the capture and
incarceration of the other. Without the community involvement, the jobs of all those involved
would not have been at all simple. This mutually beneficial relationship, between the Boston
police department and the citizens of Boston, helped solve one of the worst crimes in American
history.
The use of social media with police departments and police in America “…creates a
soundboard and resource for discussions, concerns and conversations for all parties involved”
(Murnik, 2015, p. 40). It allows the community to be able to sound off their own ideas, while
also allowing the police to interact with the rest of the community by announcing events,
programs, and other necessary messages. Social media has been “…proven effective in cases of
Amber Alerts, missing reports, and cases where information needs to be transmitted to a
widespread audience” (Murnik, 2015, p. 40). In fact, according to Dees, sites such as Twitter use
“…Short Messaging System (SMS) or "texting" technology to keep people in touch with one
another” (Dees, 2015, p. 32). This form of social media is perfect for getting out real time
messages to those who need to hear it.

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A theory that helps explain the use of community policing and the use of social media by
police would be the Broken Windows Theory. The Broken Windows Theory “…posits that
something as simple as a building with a broken window signals abandonment, a lax attitude
toward property, and therefore an absence of respect for the law” (Adams, 2006, p. 26). The
deterioration of a neighborhood is seen as a hot bed of crime and disorder, and as long as an area
like that is still in place, then crime will be prevalent. Criminals become more bold, and more
and more offenders come into the area. Now, social media is not a lawless area like the theory
states, however, the second part of the Broken Windows Theory states that an increased police
presence that takes away the prostitutes, the beggars, and the petty criminals, and the
neighborhood will improve (Adams, 2006, p. 26). In this case the police presence on social
media gives civilians something to latch onto. The influence of police on social media has means
that citizens begin to follow, and support law enforcement. The dependent variable of this study
is the perceptions of police in America, and this form of community policing helps improve the
community relations between civilians and the police.
(III) Hypothesis and Variable Measurement
In this study there are many hypotheses. The hypotheses of this study are indicated
below.
H1: Monmouth University students who follow police departments and agencies on
social media are more likely to have a positive perception of police in America
H0: Monmouth University students who do not follow police departments and agencies
on social media are not more likely to have a positive perception of police.
H2: Monmouth University students who live identify as a higher socioeconomic status
are more likely to follow police departments on social media.

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H0: Monmouth University students who live as lower socioeconomic status are less
likely to follow police departments on social media.
H3: Criminal Justice majors/minors at Monmouth University are more likely to follow
police departments’ social media accounts.
H0: Non-criminal justice majors/minors at Monmouth University are less likely to follow
police departments’ social media accounts.
H4: Previous interactions that were for positive reasons will result in a positive
perception of police.
H0: Previous interactions that resulted in arrests or tickets will result in a negative
H5: Older students will be more likely to have a positive perception of police.
H0: Younger students will be less likely to have a positive perception of police.
The dependent variable of the present study are the views on police in America. There are
three dimensions of this variable, which are law enforcement, service, and order maintenance.
For the following questions measuring this variable, respondents will circle the numbers, ranging
from 0-10, based upon their views on the questions that are asked. These questions were broken
up into the different dimensions of the study. These dimensions of the dependent variable are
(D1) Law Enforcement, and further broken up into sub dimensions of effectiveness and fairness.
The second dimension (D2) is Service, also, broken up into sub dimensions of effectiveness and
fairness. The final dimension (D3) is Order Maintenance, and is also broken up into sub
dimensions of effectiveness and fairness. The total number of questions for the dependent
variable is 16, but each dimension and its sub dimensions are represented as well. The questions
for each dimension and variable are as follows, and are classified as such:
(D1) Law Enforcement Effectiveness
1. Police are effective at making arrests:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Police are effective at responding to calls:

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. The police in the United States are fair:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(D1) Law Enforcement Fairness
4. The police in the United States are fair when making arrests:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. The police in the United States are fair when conducting traffic stops:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. The police in the United States are fair when responding to and dealing with calls:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. The police in the United States are fair when dealing with courts:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(D2) Service Effectiveness
8. The police in the United States are effective at conducting community service:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. The police in the United States are effective at running community wellness programs:
(D2) Service Fairness
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. The police in the United States are fair when running community programs:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(D3) Order Maintenance Effectiveness
11. Police patrolling the neighborhood in a squad car is effective at maintain order:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12. Police walking the beat is effective at maintaining order in the neighborhood:

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13. Police are effective at directing traffic:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(D3) Order Maintenance Fairness
14. Police are fair when patrolling the neighborhood in squad cars:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
15. Police are fair when patrolling the neighborhood on foot:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
16. Police are fair when directing traffic:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
There are two independent variables of this study. The first independent variable is the
social media sites used. The questions in this set of questions were nominal in nature, and the
respondent circled whichever he or she felt best pertained to his or her social media use. These
questions were used to gauge the social media norms and the different types of way the sample
population received its information. The second portion this part of the survey asked about the
social media awareness of Originally there were two dimensions that made up this grouping of
questions. However, throughout the survey process, there came a time where the data was
condensed and computed together. This new variable took into account the social media usage
that the respondent used, while also taking into account the awareness the respondent has of the
social media presence of police. For example, if the respondents answered that they use social
media for 4 hours as well as circle 8 out of the 12 social media sites, than it can be classified that
the social media use of that respondent is high. However, for the next portion of the independent

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variable, the portion about police, if a respondent answers unsure, and has a low knowledge
about the local police departments social media pages, then that person awareness of Police on
social media is low. The questions are as follows:
17. Do you currently use social media websites? (Please circle your answer).
Yes No
18. Through which device do you most often use social media sites?
Laptop Tablet Cellphone Other
19. Circle all the social media sites that you currently have an account with:
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn
GooglePlus Tumblr Bubbler Flickr
Vine YouTube Sparx Pinterest
20. How many hours a day do you go on social media during the day? (Please circle the
hours that best suits yourself)
0 1 2 3 4 5+
21. Does your local police department use social media to disseminate information?
Yes No Not Sure
22. How much attention have you paid to the info posted by your local police department on
social media?
Low Medium High

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The second independent variable of this study is the previous interactions with police.
This is broken down into two dimensions, which is the type of interactions, and the outcome of
the interactions. The respondents will circle the answer that best suits their own views, as well as
expand upon their previous interactions. These three question, based off of the answers would
indicate the overall perception of the police, which became the second independent variable used
for data. For instance, if a respondent answered that the interaction they had with police was
positive and ended with a positive outcome, then it is concluded that the perception of police is
positive. The questions for the independent variable are as follows.
23. Have you had any interaction with police since 2012? If Yes, who initiated the contact?
No interaction I did Police Did Other_________________
24. Was this interaction positive or negative?
Positive Negative Neutral
25. Was the outcome positive or negative?
There are two antecedent variables in this study. The first antecedent variable is
socioeconomic status. Respondents will respond to this inquiry by circling the answer that best
suits their lifestyle.
26. I would classify my neighborhood’s socioeconomic status as:
Low Medium High
The second antecedent variable in this study is the major of the respondent. The
respondent will write in their major.

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27. Please indicate your current major:_________________
There are two conditional variables in this study. The first conditional variable is the
gender of the respondent. Gender is indicated as “male” or “female”. Respondents will circle
their gender. This variable was not actually used in the study. In fact, it was only used in this
study in this survey to see what the sample population looked like.
24. Please circle your gender:
Male Female
The second conditional variable in this study is the age of the respondent. The respondent
will write in their age. This was used to see whether or not the sample population is equal in it
distributions between males and females at Momouth.
25. Please state your age: ______________________
When doing a survey, one of the main problems is that the survey can be twisted so that
the respondent isn’t answering the question correctly. The respondent may be just simply filling
out the survey by circling answers for no apparent reason. For instance, one of the worries was
having a respondent circle ‘10’s for 16 straight answers. That is not accurate data for the study.
In fact, to combat this type of problem, in question 19, it asks the respondent to circle the social
media sites that the respondent uses. These include major social media sites including Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, but also social media sites that aren’t as famous, such as Vine,
Tumblr, Pinterest, and Flickr. To see whether or not respondents are actually paying attention to
the survey questionnaire, the researcher added two fake social media sites that, when glancing at
the names, look like they could actually be social media sites. These two fake sites are called
“Bubblr” and “Sparx”. The idea behind this was that if the respondents answered these questions,

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than that data set would be unusable, because if the respondent answered with these answers,
than in the rest of the study, there would be unusable data.
(IV) Methods
Social media use is a very common thing in today’s society. So is the police. Therefore,
handing out a survey is the easiest form of gathering data for this study. This survey is absolutely
confidential and the respondents will only be required to place their initials on the form of
consent, if they choose to take the survey. Some of the pitfalls that may occur when taking a
survey include respondents not responding to the survey accurately, or just fill out random
answers leaving inaccurate answers. Using a survey is the easiest and most efficient way of
gathering mass data.
The sample population will be about 100 current students at Monmouth University.
Permission will be received by professors willing to assist in the process of gathering the data
necessary. So as to not get only criminal justice majors to take the survey, different classrooms
will be utilized so that people of all majors and grade levels can take the surveys. Surveys will be
handed out to those who are willing to take it, and will be administered by the researcher. The
respondents will then initial the survey. Those participating in the survey can, if they wish, stop
taking the survey at any time during it. All the information that is gathered is absolutely
confidential.
(V) Analysis
In total, there were 6 Oneway ANOVA tests done, and three Chi-Square analysis tests
done for this study with the data available. The Oneway ANOVA tests were done because the

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Dependent Variable was broken up into three dimensions, and then further broken up into
effectiveness and fairness. These dependent variables, scale value, were tested against the
independent variables, which were ordinal in value. Therefore, a Oneway ANOVA test was
necessary. A total of two Oneway ANOVA tests were done for this study. For the Chi- Square
Analyses, the variables tested were the ordinal independent variables against the nominal
conditional/antecedent variables. A total of 3 Chi-Square tests were done for this study. The
following tables below states all the results of the tests run:
Hypotheses Variables Tested Dimensions Tested Signifigance
H1: Monmouth
University students
who follow police
departments and
agencies on social
media are more likely
to have a positive
perception of police in
America.
DV- Views on Police
in America
Law Enforcement
Effectivess
.180
Law Enforcement
Fairness
.014
Service
Effectiveness
.497
ID1- Social Media
Usage and Awareness
Service Fairness .152
Order
Maintenance
Effectiveness
.612
Order
Maintenance
Fairness
.070
H2: Monmouth
University students
who live identify as a
higher socioeconomic
IV1: Social Media
Usage and Awareness
.883

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status are more likely
to follow police
departments on social
media.
Ant. V.:
Socioeconomic Status
H3: Criminal Justice
majors/minors at
Monmouth University
are more likely to
follow police
departments’ social
media accounts.
IV1: Social Media
Usage and Awareness
.819
Ant. V.: Major
H4: Previous
interactions that were
for positive reasons
will result in a positive
D.V.: Views on Police
in America
Law Enforcement .01
Service .078
IV2: Previous
Interactions with
Police
Order
Maintenance.
.080
H5: Older students will
be more likely to have
a positive perception of
police.
Con. V.: Age .271
IV2: Previous
Interaction with Police
For every single test done in this study, the significance level of .05 was used to
determine whether the resulting data from the test was significant or not. If the hypothesis tested
had a significance level under .05, then the hypothesis was significant, and could therefore reject
the null. If hypothesis tested had a significance level above .05, than the study was not
significant enough to reject the null, and therefore failed to reject the null hypothesis. Even if the
test concluded with a significance level of .051, it would still not be able to reject the null

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hypothesis. It is important to know what level of significance is necessary to reject the null,
because without knowing that number, then the significance of the relationships being tested
would be difficult to figure out.
The first test that was done was Hypothesis 1, which states that Monmouth University
students who follow police departments and agencies on social media are more likely to have a
positive perception of police in America. The idea behind this hypothesis was that because of the
information that the police disseminates to the public, they will therefore have a more positive
perception of the police because of this quasi-community relations relationship. When
conducting the study, the dependent variable of “Views on Police in America” was tested against
the independent variable of “Social Media Usage and Awareness.” The Oneway ANOVA test
was used. First, the dependent variables’ dimension of Law Enforcement effectiveness was
tested first. Below is the following data received from the test:

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The low, medium and high numbers indicate the awareness of police on social media and
the information that they present to the public. The low grouping had a 6.88 mean, indicating
that while they had a low awareness of policing and social media, they still had a positive

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perception of law enforcement effectiveness. The medium grouping had a 7.27 average, meaning
that they had a higher than average idea of the information and sites used by police on social
finally, the high grouping had a higher understanding and awareness of social media information
disseminated by police, while also having higher appreciation of law enforcement effectiveness.
Though these means mean that there is support through law enforcement, there is not enough of
a relationship between the dependent and independent variables to gather a significance, as the
significance of the study was .180. There was not a enough of a significance for the researcher to
reject the null hypothesis.
The next dimension of the study was service, and was tested along with the independent
variable of social media usage and awareness. A Oneway ANOVA test was used. The results are
as follows below:

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The data of the dimension of the dependent variable came out nearly the same as the
previous data set. The low had an average awareness of police’s usage of social media for
effective service programs, while the medium and high groupings were closer much like the
previous data set.
However, the difference between this data set and the other dimensions (that will follow
this one) was that the data was significant. The significance of this testing was .014, which
allowed the researcher the reject the null hypothesis and accept the study done. This is significant
because it shows that out of the sample population used, there was a correlation between service
effectiveness the social media usage that the public has. These two allow for further study to be
done, the population felt, as a whole, that the police are effective at conducting service to the
community, as well as promoting the service programs to social media websites.
The final dimension of the effectiveness sub dimension is order maintenance. The order
maintenance effectiveness of the first dimension is also tested against the independent variable of
social media usage and awareness. The test used is Oneway ANOVA. The results are as follows:

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Now, looking at the data set, the low groupings is actually higher than the medium. This
means that the lower groupings of the population sample had a higher appreciation and
awareness of the order maintenance procedures done by the police through social media.
However, the higher awareness groupings has a the highest mean of all three, meaning that the
higher groupings are the most aware of the order maintenance procedures done by police, and
also think of the effectiveness the highest out of all three groups. However, the significance was
way above .05 at .497. This means that there was no significance, and the researcher was forced
to fail to reject the null hypothesis. Further study could be done to combat this potential issue,
but as it stands, the present population did not provide enough of a correlation to find any
significance in the test.

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The next sub-dimension studied was the sub dimension of Fairness. This sub-dimension
measured the fairness of the dimensions of Law Enforcement, Service, and Order Maintenance.
The first, Law Enforcement Fairness, which was tested as the dependent variable, was tested
against the independent variable social media usage and awareness. A Oneway ANOVA test was
used to find the significance of this study.
The data received from this study shows that the both the low and medium groupings
have an average awareness about law enforcement fairness through social media, with a mean of
6.67 and 6.79, respectively. The high group was 7.5, meaning that they had a higher awareness
and usage of policing on social media. The significance of the study, however, was .152, and
therefore, the results were not significant enough, and the researcher is forced to fail to reject the
null.

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The next data set of this dimension was the Service fairness sub dimension. It was tested
against the independent variable social media usage and awareness. The researcher used a
Oneway ANOVA test was conducted to see if there was any significant data between the two.
The data follows as such:
The means found through this testing was 6.47 for the low grouping, 6.96 for the
medium grouping, and 6.91 for the high grouping. Altogether, this is the lowest grouping out of
any dimension that was tested. This does show that the respondents did feel nearly the same
about policing and the fairness of the service programs that they conduct, which is average all
across the board. The significance of the study was .612, and therefore, the researcher is forced
to fail to reject the null hypothesis.
The final dimension and sub dimension tested was order maintenance fairness. This was
done testing the dependent variable of order maintenance fairness against the independent

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variable social media usage and awareness. A Oneway ANOVA test was done for this study, and
the results are as follows:
The data received for this sub dimension was much higher than the previous sub
dimensions, for either effectiveness or fairness. Low grouping had a 7.06 average for order
maintenance fairness, the medium grouping had a 7.17 mean, and the high grouping had a 8.36
average. This result is staggering because it shows that no matter the knowledge of social media
with policing, these respondents still feel that the order maintenance that police officers conduct
is effective, and has noticed, as they answered the questions on the survey as high as they did.
The significance of the study is .070, however, which is still above the necessary significance
level. Therefore, the researcher fails to reject the null hypothesis.
After conducting all the tests, it was odd to see that nearly every sub-dimension for the
study had come out with a significance that warranted the researcher to fail to reject the null

Foye 28
hypothesis. The only sub-dimension that resulted in any sort of significance was the Service
effectiveness. This was surprising, because there were other sub-dimensions that were very close
to being significant, and if another test was done with the same variables and a different
population, there is a chance that there could be some significance to the study.
The second hypothesis is Monmouth University students who live identify as a higher
socioeconomic status are more likely to follow police departments on social media. This
hypotheses was tested by testing the Antecedent Variable socioeconomic status with the
independent variable social media usage and awareness. The idea behind this hypothesis was to
see whether or not there was any correlation between one’s socioeconomic status and
neighborhood, and see if that status affects the following of police on social media. The testing
was done by using a Chi-Square test between the two variables. The results of this testing was as
follows:

Foye 29
At the top of the table is the perceived socioeconomic status that the respondent
circled, and to the side is the awareness of the social media uses police have. The most common
socioeconomic status that shows throughout the table is medium, which in turn is also the lowest
amount of awareness to police and social media. The significance of the data was .883, which
forced the researcher to fail to reject the null hypothesis.

Foye 30
What was jarring about that study was that out of the 101 participants who took the
survey, 67 of them had a low knowledge of the police on social media. This falls across all of the
socioeconomic status’ of low, medium, and high. The other 44 respondents’ fell in the other
portions of the survey, however, it was not distributed well enough to make any significant
difference in the final data set. Only 11 respondents had a high knowledge of police’s use of
social media uses, and none of the 11 came from low socioeconomic neighborhoods, or
identified as such.
Hypothesis 3 was Criminal Justice majors/minors at Monmouth University are more
likely to follow police departments’ social media accounts. The basis of this hypothesis was that
if a student at any university was a criminal justice major, there is a chance that they would
follow the social media accounts of local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies. In the case
of the present study, it was the idea that the students at Monmouth University that identified as
criminal justice majors were more likely to follow police departments and other law enforcement
agencies on social media. This hypothesis was tested by using a Chi-Square analysis and testing
with the Antecedent variable of Major and the independent variable of social media usage and
awareness. The results are as follows:

Foye 31
As was the case before, there is no indication that the major of the respondents had any
sort of influence on their knowledge of police on social media. In fact, the majority of the sample
population, had a low knowledge of police’ use of social media. This was both Criminal Justice
majors and non-criminal justice majors. Only four Criminal Justice majors had a high awareness
of police on social media, and 7 non-criminal justice majors had a high awareness. What this
says is that either the police haven’t done enough to promote their department and their ideals or

Foye 32
the respondents have either never bothered to check or we’re not aware of the idea of police on
social media. Regardless, there was no correlation at all between the two, as the significance of
this test was .819. The researcher was forced to fail to reject the null hypothesis.
Hypothesis 4 was previous interactions that were for positive reasons will result in a
positive perception of police. The idea behind this hypothesis was that if a person has an
interaction with a police officer that started out positively, such as, for instance, a traffic stop that
was to warn you about a broken tail light, and then no ticket. The traffic stop, though could be
skewed to be negative, however because the officers intentions were to assist, not further
aggravate the issue, and leave the driver with a cordial goodbye and safe travels, that person will
have more of a positive perception than one who had nearly the same experience besides the
warning, and received a ticket instead. The test used was a Oneway ANOVA, and tested the
independent variable previous interactions with police, and the dependent variable of views of
police in America, with the dimension of Law Enforcement being tested first. The results:

Foye 33
The significance of the data was .01, which shows an incredibly strong relationship
between the independent variable and the dependent variable. This shows that the positive
interaction between a police officer influence that one person view on police. This data helps
show that the population strongly believes that a positive interaction with police calls for a
positive perception of the law enforcement portion of a police officer’s typical job. The mean for
positive was 7.6, which was above the negative and neutral respondents, which were 6.3 and 6.6
respectively. Further research into this subject could end up finding an even stronger correlation
between the relationship between the two variables, with a different sample population that isn’t
generalized to just college students. The researcher rejects the null hypothesis.
The second dimension of the dependent variable being tested is the Service dimension.
This dimension of the dependent variable is tested against the independent variable previous
interactions with police. A Oneway ANOVA test was used for these variables. The results:

Foye 34
The results of this test are another that are very close to being significant, but at .078, are
not significant. However, what is significant is the fact that the respondents had such awareness
for the service that police do. The positive group scored a 7.3, the negative scored a 6.4, and the
neutral scored a 6.6. Further research could be done to find whether there is any correlation
between the perceptions of the service of police and the views of police in America. The
researcher is forced to fail to reject the null.
The final dimensions of this test is the order maintenance dimension of the dependent
variables, views on police in America. This was tested against the independent variable of
previous interactions with police. The test used was a Oneway ANOVA test. The results are as
follows.
Much like the previous dimension of this hypothesis test, service, and the significance
was very close to being significant. It was at .080. The mean of the positive grouping was 7.6,

Foye 35
the negative was 7.1, and the neutral was 6.7. Once again, the researcher believes that the pitfalls
fall with the population. Having a different population other than a college campus with some
similar views and ideologies could definitely change the data and the significance. Overall,
though two of the dimensions did not have the correct significance, it is interesting to see two so
close to being significant. Further study to all could bring drastically different results that could
help reject the null hypothesis for two dimensions, but fails to reject the null.
Finally, the Hypothesis 5 is older students will be more likely to have a positive
perception of police. This study takes the conditional variable of age and tests it against the
independent variable previous interactions with police. Age was recoded into underclassmen and
upperclassmen. Underclassmen being any respondent between and including the ages of 19-20,
and Upperclassman are classified as ages 21+. A Chi-Square analysis was done for this test.

Foye 36
The results of the study did in fact show that 21 respondents that were classified 21+ did
have a more positive perception of police. However, those that classified as 21+ also either put
negative or neutral. In fact, combined, that total is 30 respondents. There was in fact some
correlation between the age and perceptions of police in this test. The test also showed that 13
respondents that classified as 19-20 had a positive perception of police. 12 scored negative.
However, 25 scored a neutral on the test. Overall, the significance of the study was .271. The
researcher is forced to fail to reject the null.
Overall, the study did not prove any of the hypotheses correctly. There were portions that
did have significance, like the service dimension of Hypothesis 1, and the law enforcement
dimension of Hypothesis 4. But overall, the limitations of the study were too great to overcome,
and the researcher is left having to fail to reject the null hypotheses for most of the dimensions
provided. However, it should be noted that there were numerous tests done throughout the data
analysis that could warrant more and more study, as the significance level was low enough to
warrant a possible change of population or change of variables to make this study work. Overall,
however, the researcher is pleased with the results of the study, as it shows the researcher that
while there is no correlation between social media and police perceptions on an overall
significance level, there are parts of the study that allow the researcher to speculate positively
that there are certain factors that will allow for a change to the survey questionnaire to better
represent the variables in the study, and the chance to change the sample population from college
students to other citizens in a different area for a better and more accurate data sample from a
larger population.

Foye 37
(VI) Discussion
Previous research for a study such as this one are few and between, as none has been
done to prove that there is a correlation between perceptions of police based off of the social
media information disseminated by the police departments and law enforcement agencies. These
studies included how to better promote ones agency to the public, the amount of users of social
media that are adults, and the sites used. There was no correlation between the two. Stanek
(2013) wrote that 82% of local police agencies have social media pages, and that is not including
the federal agencies at 81% and 71% of state agencies. The use of social media for adults on
Facebook, according to King, (2015), is 57% and adult twitter users are at 16%. This significant
portion of adults in the United States shows that social media is prevalent among our society.
The Ruddell and Jones (2013) found that out of a population of 504 students and 314
college students, it was found that 1 in 5 visited the police’s social media pages, as well as 5.4
for their Facebook page and 6.9 for Twitter. This data shows that for a study done, a population
does have an awareness of police through social media. This is significant because it shows that
when taking a sample population, that there is awareness of social media presence in the
population of that study. However, the Ruddell and Jones study does not account for the
perceptions of police after the following the police or after an interaction with them.
After doing this study, the researcher found that two sub-dimensions of the dependent
variable were significant, the service effectiveness dimension in Hypothesis 1 and the
standardized law enforcement variable in Hypothesis 4. Further study could be done to explore
the relationships between these variables and the publics perceptions through social media.

Foye 38
This study is not without its limitations. The sample population of 101 Monmouth
Students did not show any correlation between social media, policing and the perceptions of
police. The population of college students did not give an accurate portrayal of a population that
knew about social media and policing. In fact there was almost no knowledge of police on social
media, and what knowledge there was there was little of it. If this study is done again, with a
bigger population sample size, than it could be possible to get a better sample population of other
residents who understand and follow the police department on social media. With this new
information given to the researcher in this new study, a better data set can be produced by this
larger and more aware sample population.
Like any research survey questionnaire handed out to the public for research purposes,
there are many pitfalls that can occur. The validity of some of the data that was received could
come into question, as respondents could potentially have just answered the questions
dishonestly, making the data either unrealistic, and in turn, unreliable. However, even though the
data did not correlate with the hypotheses of the study, there is hope for the future that if another
study is done, then a different population and a different set of data will be found. Regardless of
the significance, the present study was done correctly, and the data that was significant will be
able to be used to help the field of criminal justice, as well as help the community at large one
day.

Foye 39
References
Adams, Joan. (2006). The "broken windows" theory. Supply House Times, 49(5), 26-27.
Dees, Tim. (2009). SOCIAL NETWORKS FOR BETTER POLICING: FACEBOOK,
TWITTER, BLOGS AND GOOGLE VOICE. Law & Order, 57(11), 32-36.
Ellison, Nicole; Boyd, Danah. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.
Journal of Computer Meditated Communication. 13 (1) 210-230.
Hinkle, J. C. (2009). Making sense of broken windows: The relationship between perceptions of
disorder, fear of crime, collective efficacy and perceptions of crime (Order No. 3372858).
Murnik, Kathryn. (2015). Why every department should have a facebook page. Law & Order,
63(4), 60-61.
Ruddell, Rick; Jones, Nicholas. (2013). Social media and policing: matching the message to the
audience. Safer Communities, 12 (2) 64-70.
Pratt, Travis; Gau, Jacinta; Franklin, Travis. (2011). Key idea: Hirschi’s social bond/ social
control theory. Key Ideas in Criminology and Criminal Justice. 55-69
Scheider, Matthew. C., Chapman, Robert., & Schapiro, Amy. (2009). Towards the unification of
policing innovations under community policing. Policing, 32(4), 694-718.
Stanek, R. (2013). Social media in law enforcement. Sheriff, 65(4), 40-43.

Foye 40
MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Department of Criminal Justice D.R.B.
INFORMED CONSENT FOR:
The Perceptions of Monmouth University Students on the Impact of Social
Media on Attitudes towards Law Enforcement
We are currently engaged in a study of social media and law enforcement perceptions, and we are
interested in learning how progressive the current trends are and what you can add to the research. To
help gain further insights in the topic, I will ask you to fill out this survey questionnaire. Your
participation in this study is voluntary and you may withdraw from participation at any time. All
information will be held anonymous, so please do not write down your name, or any other identification
number. Your response will be considered only in combination with that from other participants. There
should be no or minimum risk for you from taking part in this research.
If you have questions at any time, you may ask me or directly contact the project director, Dr. Peter W.
Liu, whose address, phone number, and email address are listed below.
By Monmouth University regulations, you are required to sign the Consent Form below. This form will
be collected and filed separately from your survey questionnaire, so no one will know how you have
provided the answers. Signing your name below only indicates that you have read and understand the
contents of this Consent Form and that you agree to participate in this study.
Mr. John Foye Project Director
Criminal Justice Department Dr. Peter W. Liu
Monmouth University Criminal Justice Department
West Long Branch, NJ 07764 Monmouth University
(908)-721-7016 West Long Branch, NJ 07764
(732)571-7566
Email: pliu@monmouth.edu
Consent
I have read the above information and I fully understand the nature of my participation. I understand
that my involvement in this study will be confidential, and that if a summary of the results is used for
educational or publication purposes, my individual results will not be identified. I also understand
that I have the right to terminate my participation at any time during the study. Lastly, I understand
the risks of participating in this study, including the self-consciousness I may feel while participating.
_________________________ ________________________________
Initials of participant Researcher’s signature after reading the
consent statement
________________________ _______________________________
Date Date

Foye 41
Questionnaire
(Please answer as honestly as possible)
Please circle the number that best corresponds with your views, 0 being STRONGLY
DISAGREE and 10 being STRONGLY AGREE:
1. Police are effective at making arrests:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Police are effective at responding to calls:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. The police in the United States are fair:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. The police in the United States are fair when making arrests:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. The police in the United States are fair when conducting traffic stops:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. The police in the United States are fair when responding to and dealing with calls:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. The police in the United States are fair when dealing with courts:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. The police in the United States are effective at conducting community service:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. The police in the United States are effective at running community wellness programs:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. The police in the United States are fair when running community programs:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Foye 42
11. Police patrolling the neighborhood in a squad car is effective at maintain order:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12. Police walking the beat is effective at maintaining order in the neighborhood:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13. Police are effective at directing traffic:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
14. Police are fair when patrolling the neighborhood in squad cars:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
15. Police are fair when patrolling the neighborhood on foot:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
16. Police are fair when directing traffic:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
17. Do you currently use social media websites? (Please circle your answer).
Yes No
18. Through which device do you most often use social media sites?
Laptop Tablet Cellphone Other
19. Circle all the social media sites that you currently have an account with:
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn
GooglePlus Tumblr Bubbler Flickr
Vine YouTube Sparx Pinterest
20. How many hours a day do you go on social media during the day? (Please circle the
hours that best suits yourself)
0 1 2 3 4 5+

Foye 43
21. Does your local police department use social media to disseminate information?
Yes No Not Sure
22. How much attention have you paid to the info posted by your local police department on
social media?
Low Medium High
23. Have you had any interaction with police since 2012? If Yes, who initiated the contact?
No Interaction I Initiated Police Initiated Other_______________
24. Was this interaction positive or negative?
25. Was the outcome positive or negative?
26. I would classify my neighborhood’s socioeconomic status as:
Low Medium High
27. Please indicate your current major:_________________
28. Please circle your gender:
Male Female
29. Please state your age:______________________

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