Academic team: Prof Harith Alani, Dr Miriam Fernandez
Policing partners: Humberside Police, Gloucestershire Police, Dorset Police
Status: Complete
The aim of this project, which builds on previous research conducted through CPRL, is to understand what attracts citizens to engage with social media policing content, from corporate as well as from non-corporate accounts. The proposed approach combines learnings from existing theories and studies on user engagement as well as from the analysis of 1.5 Million posts from 48 corporate and 2,450 non-corporate Twitter police accounts. Results provide police specific guidelines on how to improve communication to increase public engagement and participation
| Title | Outputs type | Lead academic | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media engagement | Final Report | Alani, H | 2018 |
| Policing engagement via social media | Presentation | Fernandez, M | 2017 |
The UK Government’s Crime and Policing Act received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026, marking a significant development in the legislative response to crime and public safety.
The Act introduces a range of measures aimed at tackling retail crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, alongside stronger penalties for violence against women and girls. It also includes provisions to address cyber-enabled crime and knife crime.