Vigilant and conducive : how the Dutch national police corps uses YouTube and reality based police programs as communication tools

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Running head: VIGILANT AND CONDUCIVE

Vigilant and Conducive

How the National Dutch Police Corps uses YouTube and reality based police programs as communication tools

Author: Linh Vu 10379061 Master’s Thesis Graduate School of Communication Master’s programme Communication Science Supervisor: Dr. J.M. Slevin Date of Completion: June 28, 2018

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VIGILANT AND CONDUCIVE 2

Abstract

Public organizations have acknowledged the importance of the facilitating role of social media in their relationship with citizens. This paper examines how the National Dutch Police Corps uses YouTube as a communication tool in comparison to their reality based police programs. The quantitative content analysis of two Dutch reality based police programs and videos of police vlogger Jan-Willem assess whether the strategic objectives set by the National Dutch Police Corps are met in practice. Data on race portrayal, sentiment,

interactivity and care of privacy sensitive information of 62 episodes and videos are used to identify where the execution aligns with the objectives and where the challenges for the organization lie. Considering the findings of this study, the results indicate that the level of interactivity for both the social media outings and reality based police programs are low. Findings on the portrayals of minorities as criminals, the sentiment, and the care of privacy sensitive information were statistically insignificant. This research provides insights into how public organizations use social media and if any improvements are made in comparison to how traditional media is used.

Keywords: content analysis, social media, public organizations, corporate

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Social media has afforded organizations in the public sector tools to increase their effectiveness and legitimacy in the public domain by facilitating communication between the organization and its stakeholders (Benkler, 2006; Macnamara & Zerfass, 2012; Picazo-Vela, Gutierrez-Martinez & Felipe Luna-Reyes, 2012). The National Dutch Police Corps has recognized the benefits of social media use and has created accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube since 2005 (“Social Media Steeds Belangrijker Voor Politie”, 2013). Existing literature about the relationship between the police and social media focuses on the effects of implementing social media in the organization, how social media changes the structure of the organization, the effectivity of social media use and more recently predictive policing (Berton et al., 2012; Crump, 2011; Meijer & Torenvlied, 2016; Heverin & Zach, 2010; Williams et al., 2013).

The benefits of the use of Social Networking Sites (SNS) for the police have been cited as a facilitator of participation, dialogue and community building (Macnamera & Zerfass, 2012), however it also poses some challenges. Even though social media have been praised for democratizing the voice of the people, in some instances law enforcement exerted their power on these platforms as well (Trottier & Fuchs, 2014). In 2011 the Egyptian state shut down all communication networks in the country during the uprising (Lim, 2012). In the same year senior police officer of the London Metropolitan Police Service, Tim Godwin, contemplated “switching off” Twitter because of its role during the riots in London and Birmingham (Ball & Lewis, 2011). Other potential pitfalls related to social media use by governmental organizations are records management, privacy issues, accuracy and

administrative-specific problems (Picazo-Vela et al., 2012). As a result misconduct on SNS by the National Dutch Police Corps might decrease the public’s trust in the institution.

Multiple scholars state that social media have a transformational effect on the government, which argues that technology helps governments transform social practices

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(Eggers, 2005; Landsbergen, 2010; Linders, 2012; Mergel, 2012). Sharing data and insights into decision-making processes through social media increases the visibility of the

government and thus becoming more transparent, engaging and participatory (Mergel & Bretschneider, 2013). Our knowledge on the other hand of what the presence of law enforcement entails on YouTube is limited. As a result the National Dutch Police Force might not be aware of their privacy problem and how this is perceived by the public. Therefore this study aims to enhance our understanding of how the National Dutch Police Corps presents itself on YouTube.

YouTube is currently the second largest search engine in the world in terms of

number of users (“The Top 500 Sites on the Web”, 2018), a platform where users can upload videos and interact with each other. The National Dutch Police Corps has acknowledged the presence of the public on this social networking site and has been creating content on their channels since 2013. The presence of law enforcement on YouTube has been a subject of studies with regard to citizen journalism and how this affected the conduct of police officers (Anthony & Thomas, 2010; Brown, 2016).

An important challenge, which the National Dutch Police Corps faces on YouTube, is in terms of privacy. A broadcast in January 2018 of the investigative journalism program De Monitor found out that the National Dutch Police Corps did not blur the license plates of 38 cars and that 48 persons were identifiable through appearance or voice. Television programs which broadcast the practices of the police, have been in production since the late eighties in the Netherlands. These programs differ with the YouTube vlogs in a way that the television programs have contracts with the Public Prosecution Service. These contracts state the conditions that a broadcast should meet. Officers of the Ministry of Justice for instance check if suspects have been made sufficiently unrecognizable. Police officers on YouTube on the other hand have to abide to laws, but official implementation policies about the usage of

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social media do not exist. The problem therefore lies in the discrepancy between the formulated objectives and the execution of the social media strategy. Does the execution align with the set objectives, or in this case does it abide the law?

To address this problem the following research question is formulated: “How does the National Dutch Police Corps use YouTube as a communication tool in comparison to reality based police programs?” First, I will discuss the theoretical foundation of the hypotheses. In this study I will conduct a content analysis to compare YouTube vlogs to reality police programs. The results of this study provide the National Dutch Police Corps theoretical insights and practical policy advice in their conduct on YouTube and in traditional media in terms of race portrayal, interactivity and the handling of privacy sensitive information. Finally, I interpret the results in the conclusion and suggest further research directions in the discussion section.

Theoretical Framework

The Use of Social Media by Governmental Organizations

The importance of the use of social media by governmental organizations is ascribed to democratic principles and legitimacy. The government has the responsibility to inform citizens with necessary information about their activities and as a result the government creates public support and participation, which lead to effective governmental performance (Broom, 2009; Lee, 2012). Social media is also implemented into the communication strategy of governmental organizations to increase legitimacy (Mergel, 2012). Citizens obey to

policies created by the government not only because of the power that the organization exerts, but also because people willingly comply with authority and rules without coercion (Lipset, 1959; Tyler, 1997; Weber, 1978). The government derives their right to exist from

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the fact that citizens assign them that position of power. For law enforcement organizations such as the police, this is crucial for an effective performance (Decker, 1981).

Social media is “a group of internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of the Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user generated content”, these tools are centered around and designed for social interaction (Bertot, Jaeger & Hansen, 2010; Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010, p. 61). Web 2.0 refers to the second generation web based technologies, such as podcasts, RSS, folksonomies and widgets (O’Reilly, 2005). These technologies have formed the foundation of social networking sites (SNS). These platforms offer services to communities of online users, such as blogs

(WordPress, Tumblr), joint learning (Coursera), fast exchange of knowledge (Google Docs), video sharing (YouTube) and social interaction (Facebook) (Bonsón, Torres, Royo & Flores, 2012). The scope of what the term Web 2.0 comprises, is wide. The inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee has therefore criticized this term, because “it lacks any coherent meaning” (Anderson, 2006). Moreover, the terms “social media” and “social networking sites” are used interchangeably in several research papers (Boulianne, 2015; Boyd & Ellison, 2008).

Besides the fundamental basis of democratic principles and legitimacy, governmental organizations use social media for multiple reasons. Strengths ascribed to the set of tools are the possible collaboration between the government and citizens, empowerment, participation and interaction (Bertot, Jaeger & Grimes, 2010). Social media also offers a new form of accountability and improves the transparency and openness (Bonsón et al., 2012). As a result the trust in government increases (Song & Lee, 2016). The underlying thought behind these strengths is how social media creates a two-way dialogic relationship between the public and the organization (Grunig & Grunig, 1991).

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Meanwhile scholars have been critical about the use of SNS by governmental organizations as well. An important challenge lies in the management of the information. Organizations in the public sector are faced with accuracy, privacy, security and archiving issues (Bertot, Jaeger and Hansen, 2012; Picazo-Vela et al., 2012). The question arises if governmental organizations are able to safely store privacy sensitive information. Or, considering the Facebook - Cambridge Analytica data scandal, if third-party social media providers are following governmental guidelines as well (Chang, 2018). Due to the fast paced developments in the field governmental policies are easily outdated. As a result policies do not deal with the current technological capacities, functions and operations of SNS (Bertot, Jaeger and Hansen, 2012).

Moreover, a number of articles is skeptical about the feasibility of the objectives. Janssen, Charalabidis and Zuiderwijk (2012) argue that widespread disclosure of information for a more accountable and transparent government is a myth. The researchers state that a paradoxical relationship exists between information supply and decision making; it is possible that a causal relationship between the amount of information and rational or

democratic decision making does not exist. The relationship between information supply and decision making might result in the following: more information can decrease the

understanding of the issue or the trust in the organization (Strathern, 2000). Furthermore, Macnamara and Zerfass (2012) interviewed communication professionals and they concluded that organization social media communication is implemented without clear objectives and as a consequence cannot be evaluated. It is also considered as a tool on itself, instead of

integrating social media with other forms of organizational communication. The latter study supports the critical perspective of Janssen et al. (2012); if it is unclear what the practical key performance indicators of the use of social media in the public sector are, the underlying goals of accountability and transparency might never be accomplished.

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Therefore the challenge for governmental organizations is multifaceted. The benefits of the use of social media are clear, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter facilitate the interaction between citizens and the government (Bertot, Jaeger & Grimes, 2010). Some researchers argue that the accountability, trust and transparency of the organization increase due to the use of social media (Bonsón et al., 2012). Research on the other hand has shown that the relative newness of the social media platforms results in a certain ambiguity with regard to integration and implementation into the governmental organizations (Macnamara and Zerfass, 2012). Thus one might say that the use of social media in governmental organizations could be beneficial, but only if the objectives are clear and the organizations are aware of the risks.

The Use of Traditional Media by Law Enforcement

Before the use of social media law enforcement has used other methods to inform citizens about their practices. reality based police shows, such as Cops and America’s Most Wanted, have been broadcasted on television networks since the late eighties (Fennel, 1992). The format of these programs is a combination of video footage of actual crimes, interaction with suspects, investigation, arrests and narration and cuts which include interviews with police officers. In the late eighties American television networks were searching for television formats which had low production costs and could still achieve high ratings because of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike (Doyle, 2018). As a result

“infotainment” programs, which mixed reality with entertainment, were introduced on the networks (Surette, 1998). The reality based police programs proved successful, and other countries followed soon. In the Netherlands programs such as Blik op de Weg, Opsporing Verzocht, Wegmisbruikers and De Meldkamer have been part of the television program catalogue since the early nineties (Beunders & Muller, 2005).

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In addition to the motives of the media to introduce reality programs, the police also considered the programs as added value, and therefore cooperated with television networks to create the programs. The reasoning of the police to participate with reality based programs is similar to the motives behind using social media as a communication tool. Hallett and Powell (1995) describe the reasons why the police cooperate with reality based police programs as a form of legitimation of the organization and as a way to show their organizational identity to the public. Moreover, reality programs help demystify police work, humanize police officers, and help fight crime (Katz & Pinsky, 1993; Zoglin & Booth, 1992).

The content of reality based police programs and law enforcement’s social media expressions

The National Dutch Police Corps aims to achieve certain objectives through their corporate communications. The content of their social media vehicles and traditional media outings is important in reaching these objectives (Berthon, Plitt, Plangger & Shapiro, 2012). Each of the variables, which together partially form the content of the social media

expressions and reality based police programs, are discussed below.

Race portrayal. Researchers have expressed their concerns about the content of the reality based police programs (Callahan & Rosenberg, 2011; Doyle, 2018; Eschholz,

Blackwell, Gertz & Chiricos, 2002; Oliver, 1994). The portrayal of minorities in these

programs is problematic (Entman, 1990; Greenberg, Mastro & Brand, 2002). Studies

concluded that police officers in reality based police programswere significantly more likely to exert their power in a negative manner, for instance the use of excessive force, when suspects were young individuals of racial minorities (Mastro & Robinson, 2000; Oliver, 1994). Moreover, the results of a content analysis by Oliver (1994) indicated that African Americans were overrepresented as criminal suspects in reality based police programs in

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comparison to the factual numbers in official FBI arrest statistics. Recently the National Dutch Police Corps has received negative attention regarding their racial profiling policies and internal diversity policies. For instance, police officers with an ethnic background published a book about their negative experiences with caucasian colleagues regarding race (Assistentie Collega, 2017). Additionally, young individuals with an ethnic background were frustrated with the amount of unnecessary identification checks by Dutch police officers. (CBS, 2013). Building upon previous research on race portrayal in reality based police programs and recent statistics on public attitudes regarding the National Dutch Police Corps, the expectation is that minorities are overrepresented as criminal suspects in reality based police programs as well as police vlogs.

H1: Minorities are portrayed as perpetrators more often than caucasian individuals in reality based police programs and police vlogs on YouTube.

Sentiment. Furthermore, another point of critique regarding the content of the television programs is about the subjective perspective. Since the reality based police programs are filmed from the viewpoint of the police, their behavior is framed in a

persistently positive way (Doyle, 1998). Also, police departments are given complete insight into all the material used in the broadcasted episode (Seagal, 1993). In the Netherlands reality based police programs have contracts with the Public Prosecution Service to ensure the broadcasted episode guarantees among other things the privacy of all individuals involved with the crime. Since the Public Prosecution Service is the controlling power behind the episode, the content of the programs passes several points of inspection. This form of regulation mechanism does not exist for the police vlogs on YouTube. As a result this might create self-reinforcing mechanisms and blind spots to potential risks (Geiger &

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Antonacopoulou, 2009). A lack of other perspectives on work practices leads to tunnel vision

and easily settling for consensus as well (Van Knippenberg, De Dreu & Homan, 2004).

H2: YouTube police vlogs are more positive about police activities than reality based police programs.

Care of privacy sensitive information. Additionally, research by investigative journalistic program De Monitor (2017) and privacy expert Rejo Zenger indicate that address data is easily retrieved from the police vlogs. For instance, voices are not distorted in the videos and street name signs and numbers or license plate numbers are not always blurred. As a result residential addresses are easily identified on the basis of environmental images. Trottier (2015) argues that this creates a risk on societal level, because it potentially criminalizes public spheres. Since reality based police programs in the Netherlands are checked by the Public Prosecution Service, the expectation is that privacy sensitive

information is handled with more care in these programs in comparison to the police vlogs on YouTube.

H3: reality based police programs handle privacy sensitive information with more care than police vlogs on YouTube.

Interactivity. The concept of interactivity is connected to public organizations tightly. Suen (2006) defined three levels of interactivity: one-way interaction, the semi two-way interaction, and two-two-way interaction. Informational, educational or government

information delivery are at the center of one-way interactions. While discussion forums, online public spheres where visitors can comment and websites where citizens can pose questions are examples of semi two-way interactions. Tools which facilitate co-creating and

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direct contact with the public organization are considered as two-way interactivity.

Although the National Dutch Police Corps aims to engage with the public through the use of social media, multiple scholars have been sceptical about the two-way dialogical relationship (Brainard & McNutt, 2010; Bullock, 2018; Crump, 2011). Instead of facilitating collaborative problem-solving, discussion or interaction, social media are above all used by police officers for assistance, to circulate information about police-relevant crime and incidents and to present crime prevention tips. Yet the extent of interactivity between the governmental organizations and citizens is an useful measure to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the communication (Hao, Zheng, Zeng & Fan, 2016). Since traditional media outlet such as the television provide minimal interactivity with the public, it is expected that both police vlogs on YouTube and reality based police programs are one-way communication tools.

In terms of written communication sentiment is important. Previous research argues that emotional stimuli elicits cognitive processes such as attention (Bayer, Sommer & Schacht, 2012; Kissler, Herbert, Peyk & Junghofer, 2007). The increased attention leads to behavioral responses such as information sharing, but could also lead to an increased level of interactivity (Heath, 1996; Luminet et al. 2000; Peters, Kashima & Clark, 2009; Rime, 2009). Therefore, it is hypothesized that sentiment is a moderator for interactivity.

H4: The level of interactivity for reality based police programs and police vlogs on YouTube are low.

H5: Sentiment affects the strength of the relationship between the type of program and the level of interactivity.

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Figure 1. Conceptual framework

Method Sample

A quantitative content analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. The episodes of publicly available reality police programs broadcasted on NPO and SBS6 were included in the sample as well as YouTube vlogs by police vlogger Jan-Willem. The sample ranged from March 2017 until May 2018.

The sample for the content analysis was determined through a systematic sampling technique (Neuendorff, 2002). This research method is favored when texts or video are sourced from regularly appearing media such as publications, newspapers and television series (Krippendorff, 2013; Neuendorf, 2002). The start date of March 26th, 2017 for the procedure was chosen at random and every second reality police program episode and vlog from the start date were coded. The sample consists out of six episodes of “De

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broadcasted by the Dutch public broadcaster; NPO. Moreover, episodes of “De Meldkamer” was coded, in total fourteen episodes were included in the sample. The show is broadcasted by a Dutch commercial party named SBS6. “De Noodcentrale” and “De Meldkamer” are currently the only two shows on the Dutch television, which focus on showing the practices of law enforcement. Other television programs, which the National Dutch Police Corps cooperates with, are “Opsporing Verzocht” and “Cold Case: Dader Gezocht”. Both shows focus on gathering information from citizens to solve crimes. Since the police vlogs on YouTube focus more on showing the daily practices of police officers, “De Noodcentrale” and “De Meldkamer” were deemed more appropriate as comparative material. The unit of coding and analysis is every individual crime case, which is discussed by a police officer in an episode or vlog and the entire episode or vlog.

Although the National Dutch Police Corps has several YouTube channels, this content analysis only uses the videos by police vlogger Jan-Willem. His channel has the highest number of subscribers (164.788 subscribers) of all the channels owned by the Dutch law enforcement, therefore his vlogs were included in the sample. The average length of the videos range from 14 to 25 minutes. Every Sunday a new video is uploaded on the channel. A total of 40 YouTube videos were coded for this study. All in all, the content analysis

contained 24 hours of coded material.

Measurements

A codebook was created to measure the variables of the study (Appendix A). The measurement instrument was divided into two sections: the contextual variables and the content related variables. Coders had to indicate factual information in the contextual variables section such as, broadcast/upload date, coder ID, episode/vlog ID and date of coding (Neuendorf, 1997). The content related variables consisted out of questions, which

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measured the variables portrayal of race, sentiment, care of privacy sensitive information and one-way communication tool.

Portrayal of race. Coders were asked to indicate the ethnicity of the criminal suspect in the episode or YouTube vlog. The scale consisted out of the following options, 1=

Caucasian, 2 = Asian, 3 = Northern African, 4 = Black, 9 = Unable to determine (Parrott & Parrott, 2015). Due to time concerns the first three suspects in an episode or vlog were coded. When suspects are shown in episodes or videos their faces are blurred to protect their privacy. Therefore ethnicity was assessed through the skin colour of their hands, which are most of the time not blurred. During some episodes and vlogs the police provided a description of the suspect, in that case the ethnicity which was made available by the police was coded.

Sentiment. Sentiment was judged by two questions. The first question was “Indicate the overall sentiment of the episode or vlog with regards to the behaviour of a police officer.” Coders filled in their answers on a 5-point scale (1= very negative and 5 = very positive). The second question was “Indicate the overall sentiment of the episode or vlog with regards to the practices of law enforcement in general.” The same 5-point scale was used to assess the overall sentiment with regards to law enforcements’ practices.

Care of privacy sensitive information. The questions for the care of privacy

sensitive information variable were based on the research by De Monitor (2017). The variable was measured through four questions: “Are suspects’ or victims’ facial characteristics

sufficiently anonymized?”, “Are suspects’ or victims’ voices sufficiently distorted?”, “Are environmental characteristics, such as street addresses, house numbers or notable buildings, sufficiently blurred?”, “Are the license plates of cars or other motor vehicles used of suspects sufficiently blurred?”. All questions were judged on a 5-point scale (1 = very insufficiently and 5 = very sufficiently).

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The level of interactivity. To assess if the National Dutch Police Corps uses YouTube and the reality based police programs as an one-way or two-way communication tool the scale by Ashley and Tuten (2015) used. Their study examined the creative strategies presented in social media content by a sample of top brands. The scale was modified to fit this study. Coders had to indicate the extent of interactivity by answer the following question: “In terms of the overall episode or vlog, judge its overall level of “interactivity” - the extent to which viewers can participate, engage and be active with the organization or content?” on a 5-point scale (1 = very little interactive and 5 = very interactive).

Episodes or vlogs were deemed very little interactive, when viewers did not have possibilities to directly communicate with the police officers in the episodes or vlogs or the makers of the episodes of vlogs. The level of interactivity increases when viewers were given the opportunity to comment, to like or to share the episode or video. The more of these features were available to viewers, the higher the level of interactivity. An example of a very interactive video was a police vlog in which viewers were encouraged to leave questions underneath the video and also to like and share the video.

Coding and coding procedures

The format of ‘De Noodcentrale’ is that every episode multiple cases are discussed. The entire episode takes place in multiple public-safety answering points in the Netherlands, where police officers are followed when they try to help citizens in distress. Voice actors re-enact the conversations as citizens, and these sound fragments are edited into the real conversations. The show indicates their reasoning at the start of the episode: to protect the privacy of the callers. ‘De Meldkamer’ has a similar structure as ‘De Noodcentrale’. During an episode police officers are followed from the moment an emergency call takes place to the arrest. A combination of body camera, CCTV and helicopter footage and visuals from the

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public-safety answering point gives viewers insights to the work practices of the National Dutch Police Corps. On YouTube viewers follow police officer Jan-Willem during one of his shifts, which are captured in a vlog. Vlogs are videos, in which speakers shoot footage of her- or himself and is later uploaded onto the internet (Frobenius, 2011). Since multiple cases are discussed in the episodes, the first three suspects are coded in terms of race portrayal and the extent their privacy is protected. Afterwards, coders had to assess the overall sentiment of the episode or vlog and the overall level of interactivity.

An additional coder was recruited to perform the study. The second received coder training for one hour, in which the measurements from the codebook were explained through examples from the episodes and vlogs. A subsample of episodes and vlogs was coded to calculate Krippendorff's Alpha. Most of the variables were considered reliable with Kalpha’s above 0,65. Table 1 shows the Kalpha’s of all the variables.

Table 1

Krippendorff’s Alpha for measurements

___________________________________________________________________________

Variable Kalpha

__________________________________________________________________________

Sentiment 0,92

Privacy sensitive information 0,87

Interactivity 0,65

___________________________________________________________________________

Results

The first hypothesis posited that the minorities were portrayed as perpetrators more often in reality based police programs as well as YouTube police vlogs. In total 132 suspects

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were coded. The results show that coders were unable to determine the ethnicity of 52.3% of the suspects (n = 69). 50.8% of the suspects of which the coders were able to determine their ethnicity, were white (n = 32). 49.2% of the subsample of suspects belonged to minority groups (n = 31), of which 20.6% of the subsample of suspects was coded as Northern-African or Middle-Eastern (n = 13) and 28.6% of the subsample of suspects was coded as black (n = 18). A Fisher exact test was conducted to determine if there was an association between the two variables (Fisher’s exact test, p = .305). There was not a significant difference between the portrayal of race and the type of program. Minorities were not portrayed as suspects more often than white individuals.

The subject of the second hypothesis was the sentiment towards police practices in the reality based police programs and YouTube vlogs. The principal component analysis (PCA) shows that the two items form a single uni-dimensional scale: only one component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue 1.64). The scree plot shows a clear crease after this

component. All items correlate positively with the first component, the variable “Sentiment towards practices of police officers” has the strongest association (factor loading is 1.00). The reliability of the scale is good, Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.78. Thus, the scale seems to measure the overall sentiment towards police work practices. Considering the response options of the original two variables, I concluded that high scores on the items indicate positive sentiment towards police work practices.

An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the sentiment towards practices of police officers in reality based police programs and YouTube vlogs by the police. There was not a significant difference in the scores for reality based police programs (M = 4.05, SD = 0.43) and YouTube vlogs by the police (M = 3.37, SD = 0.53) conditions, t(60) = 5.02, p = .006 , 95% CI [ .41, .95]. These results suggest that YouTube vlogs by the police

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were not more positive about the practices of police officers than reality based police programs.

All the cases which were covered in the episodes of the reality based police programs, were solved. Every episode contained police officers complimenting each other with “good job”, “well done”, or “congratulations on solving the case”. A possible explanation for the positive tone of the episode is that the episodes reinforce the perception that police work is effective in combating crime (Kooistra, Mahoney & Westervelt, 1998). Meanwhile, vlogs are characterized by a descriptive and matter of fact narrative style (Aran, Biel & Gatica-Perez, 2014). The vlog channel centers around one police officer. The material for his videos are therefore limited to his own work practices, while television programs have access to a wider range of departments and officers they can follow. The YouTube vlogs offer a more banal view of police work than the crime based reality programs.

The expectation for the third hypothesis was that YouTube vlogs are less careful with privacy sensitive information than crime based reality programs. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the four items form a two dimensional scale: two components have an eigenvalue above 1 (component 1 eigenvalue = 1.45, component 2 eigenvalue = 1.10). The component matrix showed that “Are suspects’ or victims’ facial characteristics sufficiently anonymized” and “Are environmental characteristics such as street addresses, house numbers or notable buildings sufficiently blurred” scored high on component 1, while the other two items concerning the distortion of voices and blurring license plates score low or negative on both components. Therefore, the latter two items were disregarded and a scale for privacy was constructed with the items which scored positively on component 1. The reliability of the scale was poorly, because Cronbach’s Alpha was 0.50. The reliability did not increase when an item was deleted. Another combination of items to construct a scale resulted in even lower reliability scores (Cronbach’s Alpha < 0.50). As a result I have chosen

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to construct a scale with the items regarding anonymizing facial characteristics and blurring environmental characteristics.

An independent samples t-test was conducted to measure if police vlogs handle privacy sensitive information with less care than crime based reality programs. The results showed that police vlogs on YouTube handle privacy sensitive information with more care (M = 3.22, SD = 0.73) than the reality based police programs (M = 3.00, SD = 1.13). There was however not a statistically significant difference between the means of the vlogs and reality programs, t(67) = -0.98, p = .332, 95% CI [ -.68, .23]. Although the mean of the YouTube vlogs is higher, the average score shows that the care for privacy sensitive information was neither insufficient or sufficient.

An example, which illustrates why the mean of the privacy variable for reality based police programs is lower in comparison to YouTube vlogs, is in the first episode of “De Meldkamer”. The suspect of a motor scooter theft is chased until his arrest. The episode shows the chase and also his conversations with police officers. Under Dutch law the conversations between police officers and suspects in the interrogation room fall under case information, which is usually classified. His voice is also not distorted very well and only his face is blurred, therefore identification through his clothing might be possible.

The fourth hypothesis expected that television programs and YouTube vlogs were more of an one-way communication tool than a two-way communication tool. An one-sample t-test was conducted to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between the level of interactivity in the sample of reality based police programs and YouTube vlogs. On average, the television episodes and the vlogs were very little interactive, t(61) = 4.24, p <.001 , 95% CI [ .38, 1.04]. On the other hand the results show that police vlogs (M = 2.05, SD = 1.48) are on average more interactive than reality based police programs (M = 1.00, SD = 0.00), although the level is still low.

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The fifth hypothesis expected sentiment to be a moderator to the type of television program and the level of interactivity. A multiple regression analysis is executed to answer the hypothesis. The regression model with the level of interactivity as dependent variable and type of program and sentiment as independent variables is not significant, F (2, 59) = 5.23, p = .08. The regression model is therefore not useful to predict the level of interactivity (R2= 0,15). Sentiment, b* = -0.33, t = 0.77, p = 0.444, 95% CI [ -1.18, 0.52] and type of program, b* = 0.61, t = 0.93, p = 0.356, 95% CI [ -0.70, 1.93] have an insignificant moderately strong relationship with the level of interactivity. The level of interactivity increases with -0.33 increases with the level of sentiment, thus the more positive a video or vlog is, the lower the level of interactivity. Vlog are more interactive than reality based police programs with an average of 0.61.

Conclusion

This study examined the discrepancy between the set objectives of the corporate communications by the National Dutch Police Corps and the execution of it. The empirical evidence contributes to prior research on social media use and use of traditional media by law enforcement, in particular the National Dutch Police Corps.

The findings show that that individuals belonging to minority groups were not portrayed as suspects more often than white individuals. Furthermore, although the

hypothesis expected YouTube vlogs to be more positive in comparison to reality based police programs, the current data does not confirm this. In terms of the handling of privacy sensitive information, it was expected that the YouTube vlogs were more negligent about privacy sensitive information than crime based reality programs. However, the empirical evidence showed the opposite. Moreover, the fourth hypothesis expected the level of interactivity for reality based police programs and YouTube vlogs to be low, the findings confirm this. The

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fifth hypothesis expected sentiment to be a moderator of the level of interactivity of the crime based reality program, however the regression model showed an insignificant relationship between the variables.

Although the objectives for the use of social media by the police are formulated as creating a two-way relationship between citizens and the Dutch law enforcement, thus increasing the level of participation and interaction (Bertot, Jaeger & Grimes, 2010), the results indicate the opposite. The majority of the vlogs by the police were very little interactive. Viewers followed the work practices of one or multiple police officers, meanwhile they provided information about the cases or procedures.

However occasionally the police officers would participate in a Live Q&A with the audience. The characteristics of a platform such as YouTube provides the National Dutch Police Corps with more possibilities to engage directly with citizens. Another example, which illustrates the interactive possibilities of the platform, is the “What would you do?”-vlog. Viewers are presented with a case and a number of options on how to respond to a certain situation. Thereafter, viewers make a decision as a police officer and are redirected to another video, which shows the consequences of their decision and a reflection by a police officer about the benefits and disadvantages of the choice. The latter two examples are creative ways of the law enforcement increasing the level of interactivity with the audience. Unfortunately, most of the videos lack this level of interactivity.

The level of interactivity for reality based police programs was as expected low. The objectives of these programs were in line with previous research on the topic. The content of the shows aimed to demystify police work, humanize police officers, and help fight crime (Katz & Pinsky, 1993; Zoglin & Booth, 1992). The objectives of the reality based police programs is to inform citizens about police practices. Interactivity between the organization and citizens or engagement is not the main goal of the programs.

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Previous work on race portrayal in crime based reality programs indicate

contradictory results in comparison to the data of the current study. Multiple researchers have argued the misrepresentation of individuals of minority groups in relationship to crime in television news and reality based police programs (Dixon, 2007; Dixon, 2017; Eschholz, 2002; Oliver, 1994). According to the cultivation theory media consumption can reinforce stereotypical views of social groups (e.g. Northern-African and Middle-Eastern youngsters) and social roles (e.g. criminality) (Dixon, 2007). A possible explanation for the contradicting results is the coding procedure. Dutch law requires the protection of the identity of the suspect by blurring their faces or censoring their eyes. Often, the clothes of the suspect were blurred as well. Therefore, it was difficult to determine the ethnicity of the suspects, which resulted in a small subsample of suspects whose ethnicity was identified.

A possible explanation for the conflicting results regarding the sentiment towards police practices in crime based reality programs and YouTube vlogs is the narrative formats. Reality based police programs reinforce myths about crime and the fight against criminality (Fishman, 1999; Kappeler, Blumberg & Potter, 1996). The shows clearly set out a narrative of the good guys versus the bad guys. The pathology of individual criminals is a threat to citizens and society. The criminal is not a product of social and environmental conditions, which systemically grants certain groups privileges while others cannot benefit from these privileges (Cavender & Fishman, 1998; Jensen, 2005). As a result police practices become binary, either the case is solved or it is not.

Although it was expected that sentiment was a moderator to the level of interactivity, the results did not support the hypothesis. The operationalization of the variable might explain the insignificant result. Hao et al. (2016) introduce an analytical framework based on communication theory, in which the concept of interactivity is divided into two

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study by Ashley and Tuten (2015), in which interactivity is broadly defined and the content and structural features of interactivity are considered the same denominator.

The findings show that the YouTube vlogs handled privacy sensitive information with more care than reality based police programs. Research on privacy management on social media has mainly focused on self-disclosure from the perspective of users (Bazharova & Choi, 2015; Li, Lin & Wang, 2015). Findings show that social media users have high privacy concerns about Facebook, but on the other hand users the level of self-disclosure on

Facebook is higher than on other platform such as Twitter (Bazharova & Choi, 2015). The study by Choi and Bazharova (2015) is in line with other papers, which are centered around privacy attitudes and behavioral consequences of users (Tsay-Vogel, Shanahan & Signorielli, 2018). Researchers assume that users are solely in control of the amount of personal

information they share on these platforms. However, given the omnipresence of SNS and how these platforms are structured, users do not necessarily have complete ownership of the amount of self-disclosure. Our knowledge on how certain characteristics of social media platforms influence those privacy attitudes and behavioral consequences is limited. Social networking sites shape our daily lives, therefore it is important to extend research in the affordances of these platforms. Even more so if the structure of social networking sites might lead to misuse of the available information.

As for the practical implications for the organization, the Dutch law enforcement can step up the level of interactivity to fully utilize the potential ability of citizens participating and engaging with the organization. Although the findings were insignificant in terms of race portrayal, sentiment and care of privacy sensitive information, recent media coverage on the Dutch law enforcement has been critical about the conduct of police officers in terms of ethnic profiling, diversity within the organization, and being an inward looking and closed off organization (Kleijwegt, 2018; Mollen, 2017). The legitimation of the organization correlates

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strongly with public support (Broom, 2009; Lee, 2012). Instead of solely being positive about the work practices of the Dutch law enforcement, the organization could benefit very much from a more critical examination of their conduct. Not just internally, but also through their corporate communications.

All in all, the rapid adoption of YouTube by the National Dutch Police Corps is remarkable. In comparison to other countries the Dutch law enforcement is highly active on the platform, while the presence of other foreign police corpses on the platform is non-existent. Although the current study shows that SNS pose challenges in terms of privacy concerns and the level of interactivity, the Dutch law enforcement has generally improved their conduct on YouTube in comparison to their reality based police programs. The rapid pace of the changes in current communication technologies creates exciting opportunities for public organizations. Researching the theoretical and practical implications of the

opportunities is important to gain insights on the influences and structure of the technological changes to prevent misuse and to increase citizen engagement and transparency.

Discussion

The intention of the current study was to examine if the execution of the corporate communications strategy aligns with the set objectives, thus assessing the effectiveness of the social media outings and reality based programs. Knowledge on how the Dutch law

enforcement uses YouTube and reality based police programs was limited, therefore the question arose how both media were used as communication tools.

The study also had its limitations. One of the limitations was the sample size of the YouTube vlogs and the reality based police programs. The sample for the reality based police programs was much smaller than the sample for YouTube vlogs. As a result the reality based police programs might have been misrepresented in the findings of the study. Since the study

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relied on publicly available episodes of the television programs, it was difficult to increase the subsample of episodes of reality based police programs. Second, the reliability of the scale for the care of privacy sensitive information was very low. As a result the findings has provided us with little insight on how the National Dutch police corps handles privacy sensitive information.

Future research should advance our knowledge on how videoblogging is useful as a means of organizational communication. Available research has mostly centered on the persuasive and content aspects of the vlogging, while the knowledge on the effects of videoblogging on viewers, citizens or other stakeholders is limited. Another direction for future research is the impact of organizational climate and culture. News coverage on the National Dutch Police Corps has lately been critical of the centralization of the organization. The question therefore remains how does organizational climate and culture affect successful implementation of social media strategies?

Since available measurements on privacy concerns mostly focus on self-disclosure and are attitudinal based measurements, an interesting direction for future research might be how certain characteristics of SNS inherently influence the privacy risks of the platform. To successfully examine these characteristics a reliable scale should be constructed.

This study contributes to the existing body of literature on social media use and use of traditional media by public organizations in terms of content, such as race portrayal, care of privacy sensitive information and sentiment but also in terms of structure such as the level of interactivity.

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Appendix A

Episode and vlog list

Code Upload/Broadcast Date Length in minutes Title of Episode/Video 001 01-02-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Aflevering 1 002 22-02-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Aflevering 3 003 08-03-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Aflevering 5 004 03-09-2017 40:19 De Meldkamer - S 2 - Afl. 1 005 17-09-2017 40:43 De Meldkamer - S 2 - Afl. 3 006 01-10-2017 40:35 De Meldkamer - S 2 - Afl. 5 007 15-10-2017 40:00 De Meldkamer - S 2 - Afl. 7 008 06-04-2018 40:59 De Meldkamer - S 3 - Afl. 1 009 20-04-2018 41:06 De Meldkamer - S 3 - Afl. 3

010 10-09-2017 14:26 Aanhouding door politie tijdens de nachtdienst. 011 17-09-2017 20:13 Verdachte STRAATROOF aangehouden. Inzet

BOEFPROOF. Nachtdienst politievlogger. 012 24-09-2017 15:53 Koninklijke Marechaussee, Mobiel Toezicht

Veiligheid controle, Politievlogger , In 4K 013 29-09-2017 13:07 Humberto Tan, mee met de politie. Op de

schietbaan 4K

014 01-10-2017 16:29 Humberto Tan, mee met de politie. Incidentenafhandeling 4K

015 12-10-2017 10:28 Politievlogger Jan-Willem, bloopers, bevorderd, wijkagent, Lekpoort

016 18-10-2017 14:34 Politievlogger Jan-Willem & Tess op bezoek bij Generation Discover 2017

017 25-10-2017 14:04 Mystery shoppen tijdens de week van de veiligheid.

018 29-10-2017 16:31 Assistentie collega's handhaving. Politievlogger Jan-Willem

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019 12-11-2017 13:23 Politie Den Haag, aanhouding vernieling op heterdaad. Op bezoek bij Waddinxveen 020 17-11-2017 27:27 POLITIE. Opsporing Verzocht. 35 jaar.

Special VLOG. Politievlogger Jan-Willem 021 26-11-2017 13:15 Aanhouding door politie tijdens de nachtdienst. 022 10-12-2017 02:26 PLAY THE GAME 2! - Welke keuze maak

jij?

023 17-12-2017 26:50 Enzo Knol een dagje mee met Politievlogger Jan-Willem

024 24-12-2017 13:12 Politie Zeeland-west-Brabant vuurwerk grenscontrole

025 31-12-2017 15:44 Eindbaas mee op straat. Politievlogger Jan-Willem. Politie. Korpschef

026 14-01-2018 16:24 Spookrijder en een melding van een

schietpartij tijdens een wijkdienst in Vianen en Houten

027 28-01-2018 18:52 Brandweer & Politie 24 uur mee met FIRE 24/7 deel 2

028 04-02-2018 09:11 Politie achtervolging en aanhouding. Politievlogger Jan-Willem

029 14-02-2018 23:45 Boudewijn voor een dag politieagent. Stichting Kanjer Wens

030 25-02-2018 25:03 De meldkamer, OC Den Haag, overvaller aangehouden door Politie

031 11-03-2018 20:06 POLITIE ROTTERDAM. Raymi Sambo een dienst mee op straat. Aanhouding

VERDACHTE MISHANDELING.

032 25-03-2018 08:37 Politie AMSTERDAM. Politievlogger Jan-Willem & Tess

033 28-03-2018 01:51 Mercedes Vito Politie. (extra video 034 06-04-2018 01:15:03 LIVE Q&A! Stel je vragen in de chat! 035 15-04-2018 15:37 OnneDi een dienst mee met de Politie.

Politievlogger Jan-Willem

036 21-04-2018 21:07 POLITIE NOORD-HOLLAND & LEKPOORT. Twee diensten in 1 vlog. POLITIEVLOGGER

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VIGILANT AND CONDUCIVE 39 037 15-02-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Afl. 2 038 01-03-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Afl. 4 039 15-03-2018 30 De Noodcentrale - Afl. 6 040 10-09-2017 40:47 De Meldkamer - S2 - Afl. 2 041 24-09-2017 40:57 De Meldkamer - S2 - Afl. 4 042 08-10-2017 40:48 De Meldkamer - S2 - Afl. 6 043 22-10-2017 40:48 De Meldkamer - S2 - Af. 8 044 13-04-2018 41:13 De Meldkamer - S3 - Afl. 2 045 27-04-2018 40:00 De Meldkamer - S3 - Afl. 4

046 13-08-2017 16:11 Politie mee tijdens de Amsterdam Pride 2017 047 30-07-2017 15:23 Politie Team Bijzondere Verkeerszaken (TBV)

POLITIEVLOGGER

048 16-07-2017 17:01 Politie Utrecht, HETERDAAD AUTO-INBRAAK !!

049 02-07-2017 14:35 Melding inbraak, straatroof, verdachte situatie en meer. Nachtdienst samen met Doenja!

050 25-07-2017 11:03 Politievlogger op bezoek bij het basisteam Lekpoort (Houten / Nieuwegein)

051 11-06-2017 13:13 DOODSLAG, Verdachte aangehouden. Politievlogger Jan-Willem.

052 02-06-2017 06:24 Openbare dronkenschap, geduld is een schone zaak! POLITIE!

053 28-05-2017 13:42 Politievlogger op pad met de NS (Veiligheid & Service)

054 15-05-2017 01:07:02 LIVE Q&A met Politievlogger Jan-Willem 055 09-05-2017 15:00 Politievlogger 100.000 abonnees video

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056 05-05-2017 9:36 Kwebbelkop, Gekke Markie & Veras aangehouden bij de DYTG.

057 23-04-2017 1:44 PLAY THE GAME. Welke keuze maak jij?

058 16-04-2017 15:37 Politie Utrecht, horecadienst deel 1. Politievlogger Jan-Willem

059 06-04-2017 0:58 Hand geven na wildplassen Wildplassen wat kost dat? Mini vlog nummer 4

060 26-03-2017 20:27 Politie achtervolging. Dienst samen met de politiestudent👮. Deel 1. 4K

061 11-05-2018 41:43 De Meldkamer S3 - Afl. 5 062 18-05-2018 41:41 De Meldkamer S3 - Afl. 6

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Appendix B Codebook

The coding is performed through a Qualtrics form to lower the amount of errors made, and to speed up the coding process.

Questions

Q1 What type of program is coded? 0 = Reality police program 1 = Police vlog

Date of coding [dd/mm/yyyy] Q2

Date of broadcast/upload [dd/mm/yyyy] Q3

Fill in coder ID Q4

Fill in episode or vlog ID [see list] Q5

VAR: Race portrayal Does the vlog or episode show criminal suspects?

Q6 0 = Yes

1 = No

VAR: Race portrayal Indicate the number of suspects shown in the episode or vlog Q7

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Q8 1 = Caucasian

2 = Asian

3 = Northern African or Middle Eastern 4 = Black

5 = Unable to determine

VAR: Race portrayal What is the biological sex of the first suspect?

Q9 0 = Male

1 = Female 2 = Non-binary

VAR: Care of privacy sensitive information

Are suspects’ or victims' facial characteristics sufficiently anonymized?

Q10 1 = Very insufficiently

2 = Insufficient

3 = Nor insufficient or sufficient 4 = Sufficient

5 = Very sufficient

6 = No suspect in the program or video

Are suspects’ or victims' voices sufficiently distorted?

2 = Insufficient

5 = Very sufficient

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The questions, which measured the variable “race portrayal”, were asked if the episode or video contained multiple suspects with a maximum of three suspects.

VAR: Care of privacy sensitive information

Are environmental characteristics, such as street addresses, house numbers or notable buildings, sufficiently blurred?

2 = Insufficient

5 = Very sufficient

6 = Episode or vlog filmed in control room.

Are the license plates of cars or other motor vehicles used of suspects sufficiently blurred?

2 = Insufficient

5 = Very sufficient

6 = Episode or vlog filmed in control room.

The questions, which measured “care of privacy sensitive information”, were asked after every assessment of the suspect. Since how careful the National Dutch Police Corps handled privacy sensitive information, might differ per case.

VAR: Sentiment

Indicate the overall sentiment of the episode or vlog with regards to the behaviour of the shown police officers.

Example of positive sentiment: "He did his job well. / He acted accordingly to the rules."

Example of negative sentiment: "She could have handled it better." Q14 1 = Very negative

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VIGILANT AND CONDUCIVE 44 2 = Negative 3 = Neutral 4 = Positive 5 = Very positive VAR: Sentiment

Indicate the overall sentiment of the episode or vlog with regards to the practices of law enforcement in general.

Examples of positive sentiment: "I do this work, because I want to help people. / The police is here to protect you."

Examples of negative sentiment: "The police still has a lot to learn with regards to this subject."

Q15 1 = Very negative 2 = Negative 3 = Neutral 4 = Positive 5 = Very positive VAR: Interactivity

In terms of the overall episode or vlog, judge its overall level of

“interactivity” - the extent to which viewers can participate, engage and be active with the organization or content? (Ashley & Tuten, 2015).

Q16 1 = Very little interactive 2 = Somewhat interactive 3 = Moderately interactive 4 = Very interactive 5 = Extremely interactive VAR: Interactivity

The vlog or episode is used for:

Q17 1 = Collaborative problem-solving 2 = Discussion

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3 = Interaction 4 = Assistance

5 = Circulation of information about police relevant crime 6 = Presenting crime prevention tips

7 = Showing the reasoning of the police on how to handle certain criminal or escalated situations

8 = Showing work practices 9 = Other ________________