Citizens’ perspectives: Police on social media
In early 2023, several Extinction Rebellion activists were arrested in the Netherlands following their online call for a blockade of the A12 highway as climate action. The public outrage following this police action illustrates that police intervention in response to (alleged) online incitement of disorder can sometimes unintentionally cause more unrest than it averts.
What options do the police have to respond (online) to and intervene in social media posts that potentially incite disorder or violence? Which aspects of such police responses influence the behaviour (intentions) of (activist) citizens? How does police behaviour influence (activist) citizens’ perceptions of the legitimacy of the police? What are the consequences for their trust in the police? Answers to such questions are relevant for the police as well as activists and social movements. We are investigating this in a project, funded by Politie en Wetenschap (Police and Science), in which we want to give Dutch citizens and especially activists a voice in how the police can make their approach more constructive.
Project team
This project is a collaboration between the University of Groningen, the NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences and the Police Academy. The members of the research team are:
Project approach
The project starts with a brief literature review to investigate what is already known in the social science literature about such interactions. We then interview both police officers and activists about their experiences with police responses to online (calls for) activism. Finally, in a series of quantitative follow-up studies, we test the effects of different types of interactions between police and activists who are active online on outcomes such as legitimacy and trust in the police.
The duration of this project is from September 2023 to September 2024. The findings will be described in a report for Politie en Wetenschap, and we also aim to develop widely accessible end products to promote further use of the acquired knowledge within the police (academy) and beyond.
Contact
h.j.e.greijdanus rug.nl
| Last modified: | 20 June 2024 08.10 a.m. |