The Use of Social Media by Law Enforcement Agencies: A Study of the Ghana Police Service

ABSTRACT

Technology has made it easy for criminals to carry out their illegal activities. Communities are gradually becoming computer-generated where people no longer converge at physical locations to take decisions. The measure of crime in modern times signifies a substantial challenge to law enforcement agencies in Ghana. Social media tools such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram have made it extremely easy for any subscriber to share comments, pictures, and videos with millions of people around the world. Due to the prevalence of social media use, criminals in Ghana have technologically advanced in their activities. Businesses and citizens are being tracked, monitored and ultimately attacked or robbed. The study aims to investigate how the Ghana Police Service uses social media tools to enforce the laws of Ghana. Owing to this, it employs the qualitative approach and a single case study respectively. The study reveals that the Ghana Police Service is taking advantage of the accrued benefits provided by social media platforms to improve upon its law enforcement mandate. However, there are indications that the Ghana Police Service needs to up its game on the use of social media for crime detection and prevention. The study made it possible for some notable senior police officers at the Ghana National Police Headquarters to be interviewed for the desired information.