Posts

Social media & Criminal Justice

  For this week's social Digital Law and Order post we will be delving deeper into how social media plays a huge role in shaping communication, awareness, and public perception in criminal justice as well as the justice system. Platforms such as Twitter/ X, Instagram, and TikTik are all used for things like: sharing information, raising awareness about cases, holding institutions and individuals accountable, and communication between the public and law enforcement.  The advantages of social media in criminal justice can include lots of different components. It amplifies voices that otherwise may have gone unheard had they not gone to social media platforms. It brings attention to situations of police misconduct, wrongful arrests, and systemic bias. A huge plus is that it encourages transparency between the public and law enforcement agencies, which leads to holding people accountable. And it can help law enforcement officers share updates directly with the public, as well as g...

Politics, Media and Criminal Justice: What do we believe?

  Social media nowadays plays a role in everyone’s life(most people at least) from opinions and reviews of restaurants to shaping public opinion on political matters. In this case social media holds a role in both politics and criminal justice; it shapes public opinion, influences policy discussions, and brings in more engagement when it comes to political and social issues including those related to criminal justice. Because social media is all around and reaches millions of people daily,  police departments, advocacy groups, and policymakers have started their own profiles/accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. to share updates or campaigns directly to the public by  creating an online presence. It also allows them to stay in touch with the community, which can foster a line of trust between the two. With the internet and social media reaching millions of people daily it is easy for certain videos to go viral, some of these viral videos can be about th...

Online Civility, Social Media, and the Future of Trust in Criminal Justice

  Living in the age of technology, social media has severely impacted how people interact and form relationships with one another as well as how they build their networks. Jim Rawson highlights two kinds of ties, strong and weak. Strong ties are close friends or family; they are people you have a strong trust with as well as deep emotional ties. Weak ties on the other hand are people such as acquaintances or online relationships. In the age of social media, weak ties are frequent as well as amplified through platforms such as X, or FaceBook. It shapes how people understand institutions, including the Criminal Justice System. This directly connects to the Criminal Justice system. Because there is so much information and opinions online it severely impacts the CJ system; viral videos, user generated content and online commentary sway public perceptions of policing and courts are and are run. One singular recorded interaction can influence conversation nationwide. Conversations inclu...

Artificial Intelligence in Policing: Useful or Useless?

Hello to all my Digital Law & Order readers, for this week's topic we will be diving into Artificial Intelligence(AI). Starting off you will need to know what User Generated Content(UGC) is. Writer Tricia Christensen defines UGC as content being created and shared by unpaid users of a product, service, etc., rather than by the actual brand or their professional paid creators. Social media platforms including but not limited to Twitter, Instagram, TikTok are huge platforms with digital archives which law enforcement agencies can analyze using AI tools. When it comes to AI in policing UGC can be very useful; it can provide digital evidence(videos, livestreams, posts, etc.), behavioral data, a way to map social networks, and more.  Now another writer by the name of Marcelo Luis Barbosa dos Santos disagrees and argues that UGC is shaped as well as monetized by platforms. He states that algorithms determine what content is amplified to specific users, platforms profit from user act...

Introduction: What to know about Digital Law & Order- By Raina

Welcome everyone to Digital Law & Order: By Raina, a blog which focuses on exploring how social media is impacting the future of the United States Criminal Justice System . This blog will dive deeper into the fast growing connection between everyday digital platforms and our real-world legal systems. Social media initially was meant to be used for communication, entertainment, etc. But now it also plays a role all throughout our justice system, such as; investigations, court cases, public opinion, and police-community relations. As a graduating Criminal Justice student, I saw it fitting to focus on the justice system and how online platforms influence crime, law enforcement practices, and the fairness of the justice system. This blog will string together class concepts to real-world criminal justice issues, especially current events. This Blog will cover an array of topics, with every week covering a new topic. A few of the topics you can expect include; the rise of cybercrime an...