Spreading information or engaging the public? The German police’s communication on Twitter

Police like other public organizations increasingly use social media for external communication. Due to their bureaucratic organization social media poses a communication challenge for them. This study analyses the content of tweets by German police using a three-category framework. Machine-learning based classification tasks are coupled with multilevel modelling to analyse all tweets distributed in 2019. The study demonstrates that police largely use Twitter to distribute information unidirectionally focusing on core tasks, while information gathering, and public relations only play a subordinate role. There is variation between accounts. However, the model only explains parts of it, thus inviting for follow-up research.