Assess The Role of Social Media in Transforming Police Services. The Case of Zrp Harare Province (2010-2020)

Abstract

David Foya and Nkosana Ncube

There has been a very significant widespread use of social media by the large sections of the population including in the uniformed forces. This study was assessing the role of social media in transforming police force in Harare Province of Zimbabwe Republic Police between 2010 to 2020. To identify the current services being offered by the police in Zimbabwe. Some of the objectives of the study included investigating the importance of social media use within ZRP in Zimbabwe and examining the challenges faced by police in using social media in the operations of the police. Some of the research questions included what is the importance of using social media in the operations of ZRP and what are the benefits and challenges of the police using social media in Zimbabwe? The research used a descriptive research design as this design suited the topic which is not quantitative in nature. The study is critical to ZRP as it will assist to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the operations of the police force. The research adopted the use of convenient sampling in selecting respondents for this study Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the respondents. Findings of the research do indicate that there is widespread use of social media within the Zimbabwe Republic Police. It further indicated that there is official position with regards to use of social media but officers in various ranks have resorted to use of the social media in their operations and this has enhanced the success of the police work. The study concludes by arguing in favour of using social media for police work. Finally, the study recommends adoption of policy that regulates the use of social media within the police force and the police training should integrate the issues of cyber-crime and social media.

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