2012 Law Enforcement Use of Social Media Report

Social media is quickly becoming an essential tool for law enforcement. It's changing the way agencies investigate crime and has already led to some high profile successes. Our purpose in this study was to assess the current use of social media in law enforcement, understand lingering resistance to its use, and analyze the resources and processes in play when accessing social media intelligence.

You might be surprised to learn that agencies serving smaller populations are more likely to leverage social media in investigations. Or that local law enforcement uses it more than state agencies. But large or small, local or state, our conclusion is that the role of social media in law enforcement will only grow along with its surging popularity.