Role of Social Media in Law Enforcement Significant and Growing

Survey of 1,200 Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Professionals Offers New Insight into Social Media as an Investigative Tool

July 18, 2012 —

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions today announced the results of a comprehensive survey focused on the impact of social media on law enforcement in criminal investigations. The survey revealed that currently four out of five respondents use various social media platforms to assist in investigations and found agencies serving smaller populations and with fewer sworn personnel ( < 50) use social media more, while state agencies tend to use it less (71%) than local (82%) and federal (81%) agencies.

The research also found that identifying people and locations; discovering criminal activity and locations; and gathering evidence are the top activities, while Facebook and YouTube are the most widely used platforms.

• 67% believe social media helps solve crimes more quickly
• 87% of the time, search warrants utilizing social media to establish probable cause hold up in court when challenged, according to respondents
• Close to 50% of respondents use social media at least weekly
• Only 10% of respondents learned how to use social media for investigations through formal training given at the agency
• Lack of access and familiarity are primary reasons for non-use – 70% are either unable to access social media during work hours or do not have enough background to use

The survey also generated anecdotal use cases. One law enforcement officer indicated that social media provided information on a: “terroristic threat involving students in a local high school. Further investigation (utilizing Facebook) revealed the threats were credible and we conducted follow-up investigations which revealed a student intent on harming others. The student was in the process of attempting to acquire weapons. It’s my belief we avoided a ‘Columbine’ type scenario.”

“Investigation and analysis of social media content provides a huge opportunity in terms of crime prevention and offender apprehension,” said Samantha Gwinn, Government Solutions Consultant for LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Gwinn has 12 years of experience as a crime analyst at local and federal law enforcement agencies, and believes strongly that “as law enforcement personnel continue to participate in formal training and gain an increased comfort level with the power and scope of social media, as well as its limitations, the value it provides will continue to rise.”

The research conducted in March 2012 assessed the law enforcement community’s understanding of, proclivity to use, and actual use of social media, and aimed to better understand acceptability thresholds of various types of investigative techniques and current resources and processes being used. According to the survey, 83% of current users anticipate using social media more, while 74% of those not currently using it indicated they intend to start using it.

Sponsored by LexisNexis, the nationwide survey was conducted online and solicited feedback from more than 1,200 participants at every level of law enforcement – from rural localities to major metropolitan cities to federal agencies – producing a comprehensive view of the social media landscape. Respondents are active law enforcement professionals ranging in age, experience, and job level.

For more information on the survey and its results, please visit www.lexisnexis.com/investigations.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions (www.lexisnexis.com/risk/) is a leader in providing essential information that helps customers across all industries and government predict, assess and manage risk. Combining cutting-edge technology, unique data and advanced scoring analytics, we provide products and services that address evolving client needs in the risk sector while upholding the highest standards of security and privacy. LexisNexis Risk Solutions is part of Reed Elsevier, a leading publisher and information provider that serves customers in more than 100 countries with more than 30,000 employees worldwide.

Our government solutions assist law enforcement and agencies with deriving insight from complex data sets, improving operational efficiencies, making timely and informed decisions to enhance investigations, increasing program integrity, and discovering and recovering revenue.

Editors Note: Additional infographics depicting results of the survey and law enforcement anecdotes about real world social media use are available.

Media Contact
A.J. Guenther
ConnellyWorks, Inc.
Phone: 571-323-2585, ext. 2130
aj@connellyworks.com