ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to describe the results of an activity analysis of provincial police departments’ Facebook profiles during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last decade, the potential of social media as a communication channel and a tool for public image improvement has been recognized by governmental bodies. Law enforcement agencies, especially the police, actively use social media profiles to achieve their goals, including communicating with the public in times of crisis. The most recent such time occurred between March 20, 2020, and May 15, 2022, when a state of epidemic was in force in Poland. At that time, activities related to the protection of public safety and order were more significant for communities and more often reported in the media than tasks typically carried out by the police, such as investigating crimes and prosecuting perpetrators. Actions related to controlling people in quarantine or enforcing the ban on public gatherings were especially prominent in police work. Simultaneously, the police’s publication activity on social media underwent a transformation in response to the unique challenges posed by the pandemic.
This study analyzed profiles and content posted by provincial police departments on Facebook, both before the pandemic (March 2018 to January 2020) and during it (January 2020 to March 2021). The data were obtained from the administrators of 13 out of 17 profiles of provincial police departments. The statistics included information such as the reach of posts, user engagement, and negative opinions. Based on the analysis, this chapter will describe the structure of published content and the development of profiles before and during the pandemic. The results will show how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the activities of the Polish police on social media.
