POLICE STATION COMMANDERS’ FORUM

Use of social media among Malawian senior police officers is limited. Most officers do not use face book or LinkedIn or blog. In this project I will set up a network in Google Plus where station commanders and other senior officers will share information on different subjects related to police work. For instance, officers will share success stories, best practices, emerging trends in crime, misconduct by junior officers or events taking place in their respective jurisdictions. They will also share frustrations and keep each other informed of developments taking place in the larger organization. Top management will also be able to use the network to disseminate operational and administrative information to station commanders. This will supplement the existing traditional methods of communication.

I have chosen Google Plus for a number of reasons. Firstly, like Face Book, LinkedIn or Blog, Google Plus provides controlled access to the forum. In this regard, a circle of connections will be made comprising senior police officers only. This is important for a closed organization such as the police. Secondly, unlike blog where only the blog’s administrator can introduce a new issue, and the rest can only comment on it, in this Google Plus forum each officer will be free to introduce a new topic. This flexibility is important because it increases the officers’ sense of ownership and control of the network. Thirdly, Google Plus can support a video conference of up to ten people at a time. I think this capability can be used innovatively by provincial commissioners to conduct a meeting with station commanders under their command. Similarly, the Inspector General can use the facility to hold meetings with provincial commissioners. This virtual meeting will save time and resources which would have been used to organize a real world meeting.

Despite the usefulness of the network spelt above, I anticipate a few challenges in implementing this project. I foresee a problem related to the culture of silence and secrecy associated with police officers. This problem is exacerbated because the targeted officers are older and conservative. Concerns over privacy are of critical importance among them. A related problem is that technological literacy is very low among this cadre of officers. This challenge becomes worse because most senior officers do not have personal computers.

In order to overcome officer fears over the security of the information that will be shared on the network there will be a need for an awareness campaign. For instance, officers will have to be made aware of the capability of Google Plus to organize connections in circles so that only those connections that are in this circle will have access to the information on the network. Officers who will be allowed access to the network will have to be vetted so that unwanted elements are excluded. The benefits of communicating on the network will also need to be emphasized over the need for secrecy. Officers will also have to be educated on the use of the facility via smart phones, which they have, fortunately. I hope that this project will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of officers in the long run.
Apart from the benefits that the Malawi Police Service will reap from this project, I as an individual, will have improved greatly my networking and technological skills, which enhances both my chances of a promotion within the Malawi Police Service as well as my future employability profile.