Social media and police-community relations: A case study of the Namibian police force's Facebook page

dc.contributor.authorKapitako, Alvine
dc.date.accessioned2016-05-19T07:48:11Z
dc.date.available2016-05-19T07:48:11Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.descriptionA research thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Media Studiesen_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study was to establish if the people who have 'liked' the NAMPOL Facebook page found the page useful from the purview of police-community relations; to determine if there is a difference in perception of police-community relations between those who have “liked” the page and those who have not liked the page; to determine if demographic variables impacted respondents' views on interactivity and engagement of NAMPOL's Facebook page. The study involved a survey of online respondents and Focus Group Discussions (FDGs) for Windhoek residents who did not ‘like’ the NAMPOL Facebook page. Similar to international studies that found that most public relations practitioners are using new media the same ways as they do with traditional media, this study, established that the public relations division of NAMPOL is not making use of the power of social media by actively engaging the community as equal partners on Facebook. This is despite special emphasis by NAMPOL on the use of ICTs as well as involving the community as equal partners in its functions and activities. Additionally, the study determined that the public and in particular the youths, who are a majority on social media, are also not fully exploiting the power of social media which are seen as powerful, and if used correctly can change the modern communication sphere for the better. The platform is one which they use to receive information and not necessarily engage the police to their advantage. They are rather passive recipients of information/updates from NAMPOL as very few reported that they wanted to interact with the police on this platform. The study further established that demographic variables such as age, gender and employment status impacted on respondents’ views, on interactivity and engagement with the NAMPOL Facebook page. In addition, there is not much of a difference in perception between those who ‘liked’ the NAMPOL Facebook page and the public, as both believe Facebook, if used optimally, can effect change for the better. The study thus recommends that the NAMPOL public relations division should consider in its communication strategies, the importance of two-way communication, especially when engaging its most important stakeholder, the public, as indicated in their strategic plan.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11070/1659
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Namibiaen_US
dc.subjectSocial mediaen_US
dc.subjectPolice-community relationsen_US
dc.subject.lcshOnline social networks
dc.subject.lcshSocial media
dc.subject.lcshPolice-community relations
dc.titleSocial media and police-community relations: A case study of the Namibian police force's Facebook pageen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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