Recalibrating Police-Public Relations in the Digital Disruption Era: Building Public Trust Amid Disinformation Threats
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38035/gijlss.v4i4.1334Keywords:
Police, Trust, Disinformation, Digital, CommunicationAbstract
Disinformation and digital manipulation have eroded public trust in institutions, including the police. In an era in which information can be rapidly manipulated and disseminated, police-public relations face novel challenges that require fundamental recalibration. This qualitative study examines police public-relations policy documents, selected case studies of police responses to disinformation incidents, and academic literature on public trust and policing published between 2021 and 2026. The data were analyzed through thematic and content analysis using trust-building theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) as analytical frameworks. The analysis focuses on the characteristics of police communication, digital community engagement, and counter-disinformation mechanisms, with attention to transparency, procedural justice, institutional legitimacy, and public trust. The findings indicate that recalibrating police-public relations requires transformation in three interrelated domains: (1) proactive and transparent public communication strategies, (2) the use of digital platforms for direct and dialogic community engagement, and (3) credible and adaptive counter-disinformation mechanisms. The study further demonstrates that technological adoption alone is insufficient to establish sustainable public trust; police institutions must also provide transparent information, acknowledge errors where appropriate, create opportunities for public participation, and develop anticipatory responses to disinformation. Ultimately, recalibrating police-public relations in the digital era requires a shift from predominantly one-way communication toward sustained dialogic engagement, with transparency, accountability, and procedural fairness serving as foundations of institutional legitimacy and public trust.
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