2Running head PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATORS 2PUBLIC SAFETY A.docx

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Running head: PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATORS
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PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATORS
Public Safety Administrators
Michael Petras
University of Maryland University College
Public safety administration entails the coordination of the
resources that would be used in the safety and security of the
community. Mainly, public safety administrators include the
police officers, the emergency teams, fire departments, and even
medical service providers. The main aim or role of the public
safety administrators is to ensure that the general public is
protected from various threats that may arise as they interact
within the environment. However, recently, there have been
some challenges that have been an issue in the provision of
public safety administrations. The effect of social media use in
the public has been a challenge to the public safety
administration because of the technicality involved in the use of
the same. Therefore, there is a need to understand social media
use as a challenge to the public safety administration.
In the use of social media, it is expected that the lawmakers,
litigators and even the community members shape the federal,

state and local law and departmental policy regarding what
information the public safety administrators access when trying
to protect individuals from areas such as cybercrime and
bullying (Beckett, 2018). The use of social media puts so many
individuals at a lot of risks that need protection from public
safety administrators. It is as a result of this need to protect the
public that laws have been put into place laws on the type of
data and transparency required to protect the public. Some of
these laws have been a challenge to the security providers and
therefore become an issue that needs to be addressed.
The issue of transparency and access to public data from the
public using social media came into existence when there was a
rise in modern technology. The arrival of the new technology
that could enable people to interact online is the one that
resulted to lawmakers coming up with policies that would
require the public safety administrators become more
transparent on the data they access and the extent of the data
they access from the public (Namkoong et al., 2017). The
policymakers argued that the public safety administrators in
their line of duty were accessing private data, which is illegal.
They then came up with laws prohibiting the same, and that
made it a challenge to protect the public who are on social
media platforms.
The history of the issue is dated from the digital age, whereby
the users of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,
and even Instagram started sharing the geographic location and
other data in public. However, watchdog or public safety
administrators could use this data to come up with ways to
protect the public and ensure public safety. However, some of
the ways that the data was being used entailed some
discriminatory surveillance and even tended to violate privacy
rights. Additionally, public safety administrators such as the
police had adopted the dash cams and body cameras to collect
data that were sometimes infringing personal rights (Gintova,
2018). It was upon this realization that society groups went
ahead and called for laws to guide the public safety

administrators on the type of data they should collect and stop
invading the personal privacy. However, in the process of
implementing the laws, then it was seemed a difficult task in
providing protection to the public and ensuring their safety on
social media without having to access this data.
To briefly state, the issue of public safety administration should
not be regulated based on privacy matters. The reason being, the
general aim of the public safety administrators, is not to punish
the public but to ensure their safety. Even if someone is
invading their privacy, they are doing that on the basis that they
want to help that someone is protected from any harm that may
arise from the use of social media. Therefore, I do believe that
the issue should be analyzed on the overall benefit received
from the infringement of privacy and not from the fear that
some of the people's privacy being infringed. The same way the
fire department would break into a person's house to contain
fire without any consent from the owner. I believe it should be
the same when it comes to social media that one can access a
threatened person's social media platforms to protect them from
possible cyber crimes, bullying, and any other type of crime
that may arise without consulting the owner. The damage from
the threat is more than the cost of infringement on personal
rights.
Therefore, the issue of infringement of privacy rights in the
context of social media should be an issue of the past that
should not inhibit public safety administrators from conducting
their business of protecting the public. The administrators do
not protect the public from benefiting themselves or from
humiliating someone, but they do it for the benefit of the people
and individuals affected. Therefore, there is a need to revisit the
legislation and come up with laws that are enabling the public
safety administrators to have the ability to administer their
duties without the fear of being subjected to legal litigation of
invading someone's privacy rights.

References
Beckett, J. (2018). Five great issues in public law and public
administration. Handbook of Public Administration, 697-
719. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315093215-18
Gintova, M. (2018). Use of social media in Canadian public
administration: Opportunities and barriers. Canadian Public
Administration, 62(1), 7-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12298
Namkoong, K., Cho, K., & Kim, S. (2017). undefined. Taylor &
Francis.
Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
1
SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
14
Social Media Effect to Public Safety Administration
Michael Petras
University of Maryland University College

Introduction
Regulation of social media usage has led to lawmakers,
community members, and even the litigators in shaping their
policies. This is done based on federal, local, and state laws
while also realigning the information that they are sharing
online. This is concerning the public safety administration that
is usually affected by the continued use of social media
platforms. Public safety administration is also based on
restricting access to personal information while trying to protect
citizens from various issues such as bullying and cybercrime.
Social media usage has continued to put more people at risk,
and there is a need for the provision of public safety protection
by the relevant administrators. This needs to be tied to the
generation of federal laws that protect information and data
from various individuals that have been posted on social media
platforms while encouraging the much-needed transparency in
the protection of the public. Continued social media usage by
the general public has also brought about the issue of stolen
identity due to the emergence of modern technology. The new
technology arrival has been the leading cause of the interaction
of many people on social media platforms (Beckett, 2018).
Those tasked with policymaking have always argued that the
administration of public safety should be in line with the duty
to protect the privacy or access to information and data from
various individuals. In that regard, this paper aims at analyzing
the issue of social media usage as it affects the administration
of public safety at all times.

Resources
Public safety administration often encompasses the release and
coordination of various resources, which can be able to ensure
the safety and security of the community as a whole (Gintova,
2018). Administration of public safety is inclusive of many
departments such as the police, the emergency services, the
medical services, and even the fire department. Public safety
administration also happens to be affected by limited resources
when it comes to preventing the processes involved from
working efficiently. This can be linked to the limiting resources
by the government while ensuring the safety and the security of
the general public (Baym, 2015). The general public will always
rely upon a variety of services that come from the relevant
governments to enable the provision of safety and security to
the public in their daily lives. However, limited resources will
end up hampering the whole process as systems and policies
seize to operate with the much-needed efficiency (Wohn &
Bowe, 2016).
Public safety administration services happen to be rendered by
government agencies in most cases, and this usually occurs at
the local, state, or federal levels. The resources that are needed
when it comes to the enactment of public safety concerning the
usage of social media platforms are diverse. For instance, public
safety administration may require the officials that will help to
ensure its efficiency, and this may be a challenge at times. For
that matter, the order in which these services are offered
becomes less efficient (Beckett, 2018).
The officials, such as managers or even the policy
administrators, must be able to ensure that public safety needs
are being provided to the citizens or the community at large at
all times. This is because the different departments of public
safety are often mandated to the provision of public safety and
protection of information being shared on social media

platforms.
On the other hand, public safety administration has been able to
embrace the application of social media platforms as a resource
in fighting crime at all times. This is done by using it to not
only inform the public but keep the educated as well (Gintova,
2018). Notably, tools of social media platforms are helping the
administrators of public safety in communicating emergencies
to the general public while also building situational awareness.
By doing so, the use of social media has helped the agencies in
tracking criminals. However, as much as people have the feeling
that social media is private, it is prudent to note that agencies of
law enforcement have often found ways of gaining access to
information and data about many individuals (Beckett, 2018).
The police and other public safety administration departments
can be able to rely on social media as a resource to gain more
evidence in prosecuting a criminal case.
The other challenge being faced in public safety with regards to
the resources is based on the digital age, whereby the users of
social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and even
Instagram often share their geographic locations unknowingly.
Such data could be used by anyone while derailing the essence
of protecting the public and ensuring public safety at all times
(Gintova, 2018). For instance, there is a need for surveillance
(that is not discriminatory by any form) for the general public
to help agencies in the provision of safety as they continue
using social media platforms. However, surveillance resources
have proved to be inadequate; hence some criminals have found
a leeway to violate the privacy rights of other people in the
general public (Wohn & Bowe, 2016).
Additionally, other resources need to be adopted by public
safety administrators, such as the police using body cameras
and dash cams. These can be applied in the collection of data
that concerns infringement on personal rights within the social
media platforms (Beckett, 2018). In the absence of such
resources, there is a challenge to public safety administration as
social media platforms usage has become diversified due to the

emergence of higher technology. The funds have to go hand in
hand with the laws that guide the public in using social media
platforms to ensure that public safety administration continues
to protect data and privacy. In the same manner, the resources
are to be encompassed with the implementation of these laws in
a bid to ensure public safety on the platforms of social media
while restricting the access people have on individual data
(Gintova, 2018).
In a bid to foster the public safety administration process, there
is a need for advanced research while social media and
technology continue to advance. However, there are no
resources that can be used for such advancement by the agencies
of public safety administration. This leaves a gap in the
provision of the much needed public safety to all individuals
who are in need with regards to the information provided by
individuals from a particular category (Burton, 2010). At the
moment, it is clear that gathering information can be done with
ease from diversified groups on the social media platform, and a
boost to criminal activities in the cyber world. This happens
without face-to-face interaction, and criminals or any other
users find it easier to more comfortable to carry out their
activities on social media platforms. For that matter, the various
public safety administration agencies have to seek for service of
a social scientist so that they can be able to form new theories
that postulate the interact of such people on the cyber world and
help to avert the harm caused on the general public (Beckett,
2018).
People
Technology has proven to be an essential part of our daily lives
for people in the world because it applies to bills payment,
communication, and adopting better transport systems. People
depend on the improved technology for communication, such as
sending emails, carrying out social media chats, and even trying
to manage their daily lives in general (Gintova, 2018).

Technology has also improved the access that people have with
regards to smartphone usage and any other gadgets for that
matter. However, improvement in technology has also been able
to cause a substantial amount of harm to society, where many
are doing bad things in the community (Beckett, 2018).
Notably, social media platforms have helped the nation in the
sense that they have enhanced activities such as the business
sector while helping the way promotions are being done or even
increasing the general expansion of the way businesses are
being run. However, the use of social media has also come
about with adverse effects at different levels since individuals
have always found ways to infringe on emotional health, the
general social interactions even personal privacy of other
people. This has proved to be a challenge to the way public
safety administration is being carried out within the society as a
whole (Baym, 2015).
While carrying out public safety administration, people are
always an important consideration, especially if the right people
are in place for the whole process. However, it is essential to
note that such people should have the right amount of
experience and training when it comes to the provision of much-
needed safety to society as they continue to utilize the social
media platforms at all times in their daily lives. Furthermore,
the protection process for the rights of individuals or even the
restriction of access to their information and data should always
be done by people working under an effective organizational
structure of the public safety administration agencies (Beckett,
2018).
While the greater society continues to experience globalization,
people are getting connected around the world on a larger scale,
and this has continued to improve their access to resources and
information that are limitless. The connectivity has maintained
to ensure that society is thriving with success as the use of
social media platforms is being embraced in all circles (Baym,
2015). Many people continue to be dependent upon social media
platforms in carrying out their activities, and they have been

spending a considerable amount of time to post and go through
news feeds.
This involves divulging more personal information while they
create new relationships so as to keep in touch with their
colleagues (Burton, 2010). However, public safety
administration personnel have been lacking the relevant training
and experience that is much needed in the provision of safety to
the general public. The heavy usage of social media often
entails that the agencies that deal with public safety provision
get adequate training by the government has not been able to do
so, resulting in the adverse effects that have been realized
within the society as a whole (Gintova, 2018).
Furthermore, the organizational structures of public safety
administration agencies, such as the police departments, have
not been able to accommodate the personnel that is mandated to
fostering public safety at all times. The social media platforms
have seen some of its users being subjected to harassment and
personal privacy intrusion at the same time (Baym, 2015). Fight
such crimes is the relevant public safety agencies have to try
and come up with sections within their departments under their
organizational structures that will be able to deal with social
media crime. This is in line dealing with cases such as users
being exposed to cyber-sex or even online harassment that
happens to the various users.
As this is done, it will be able to hinder the cybercriminals from
conveying the insensitive messages that adversely affect the
emotional status of these individuals. The personnel under such
sections of the public safety administration agencies have not
been trained adequately to deal with the instances that entail
dealing with cybercrime (Burton, 2010). These are such as
posting disturbing images on the internet of other people
without focusing on how it will negatively affect their
emotional stability or hurting one's feelings. The personnel
should be trained adequately in ways that can be used to handle
individuals who carry out online harassment while often causing
emotional disorders to the victims (Gintova, 2018).

Processes
Efficient public safety administration often requires relevant
agencies to come up with better policies and procedures.
However, the current policies and procedures that happen to
govern the various social media platforms are not that adequate,
and their mandate has been lagging in terms of enforcement for
the much-needed regulations. This calls for appropriate and
proper checks and balances to be put into place at all times to
govern the activities of the various agencies that are mandated
with public safety administration. For that matter, enforcement
of public safety has proven to be a challenge in recent times
because the existing policies and procedures are not adequate at
all (Beckett, 2018).
For starters, most social media platforms have often been used
as a mode of expression for a personal opinion while infringing
on public safety at the same time. This has made it difficult for
the various agencies to control its usage, as many often cite the
use of social media to be free (Boyd, 2015). Continued use of
social media has been putting all the public users at risk while
compromising their overall safety, given the fact that the
various agencies do not have means to regulate the activities
being carried out on the platforms. The different policies and
procedures in place have been laid ineffective because most of
the speech privileges on the social media platforms are geared
towards freedom without limiting the formation of hate groups
or even criminal organizations for that matter (Burton, 2010).
The policies are not adequate to be able to control what people
are posting on the online social media platforms, and there are
no specific standards to be used as a guide for all group
members' behavior (Baym, 2015). Such a norm has rendered the
policies and procedures that govern the activities on the social
media platforms to be less strict hence affecting the public
safety administration process as a whole (Beckett, 2018).
There is also the concept of cyberbullying that has increased in
recent times on social media platforms. This is because public
safety administration has not been adhered to fully, and the

reason trickles down to the imperfect policies and procedures
that have been put into place to govern such activities. Gintova
(2018) clearly articulates the fact that public safety
administration has been facing a challenge when it comes to
social media users because illegal access to information and
personal data on the internet has not been restricted at all. This
is based on the various app and programs that utilize such
measures that are not strict while leaving a negative effect on
the victims of these cases at all times. Other policies do not
tackle data posting that could leave a negative mark on the
society, such as immoral actions, suicide commitment, and
terrorism hence making it difficult for the public safety
administration agencies to carry out their tasks (Wohn & Bowe,
2016).
Stakeholders and the Constraints and Opportunities
Analysis of the public safety administration concerning the use
of social media platforms can also be based on the stakeholders,
the constraints, and even the opportunities that are involved
along the way. These are clearly outlined as being part of the
process because they form part of the outcome that is expected
while handling the issue of public safety at all times (Boyd,
2015).
Stakeholders
Social media platforms consist of various stakeholders, with a
good number of people involved in its usage getting data and
information through its use. This is data and information that is
based upon daily events such as meetings and even other
activities that do not frequently recur, such as birthdays. Most
of these events are passed on social media platforms, and this
ends up leaving personal information on the media (Gintova,
2018). If unauthorized persons access such data, it ends up
being in the wrong hands while being used to cause harm to the
victims at the same time. For that matter, the main stakeholders
that need to ensure their own public safety administration
process are the users of the social media platforms.

Most of the users do not want to filter or even limit the kind of
data and information they are sharing on the social media
platforms, and this is leveraged upon by the criminals who find
their data with ease. This has posed a challenge to the relevant
public safety administration agencies as raising the level of
awareness has not borne fruit (Beckett, 2018). Some of the
leading platforms of social media being used by the
unsuspecting individuals happen to be Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, emails, and even that of WhatsApp. Such media apps
have been accessed with ease by the criminals due to the lapse
in data security by the individuals using the platforms, as most
of them have failed to secure their data with necessary measures
(Boyd, 2015).
Constraints
On the other hand, there have been various constraints that are
being faced by public safety agencies as they try to enforce
safety concerning social media usage. This is based on
safeguarding the information that is coming from various
individuals who use the platforms from thieves and other
cybercriminals at the same time. Thus, the fight is being
hindered in most cases with emerging constraints concerning the
use of social media networks. The various restrictions that are
being faced within the sector are such as ensuring data privacy
for all the individuals subscribed to the social media platforms
as their numbers turn out to be immense (Beckett, 2018). The
protection of such a massive amount of data proves to be a
challenge to the public safety administration agencies as the
technology to do so continues to be elusive.
For example, a criminal can access Facebook accounts of a
given individual and take their personal information to be used
in tracking their email accounts to steal personal information
later on without the user's knowledge. This becomes a challenge
as the agencies find it difficult to tell if, indeed, it is the owner
having access or thief of such information being granted access
to private information (Gintova, 2018). The other constraint is
the regulation of online communities and their respective

activities at all times on the social media platforms. Therefore,
public safety administration agencies often face the challenge of
preventing negative impacts of using social media outlets for
specific individuals because regulation of activities on the
media platforms is not more natural (Boyd, 2015).
Opportunities
The process of public safety administration is often affected by
the opportunities that social media platforms present to various
business sectors. This is because there are opportunities such as
the interconnection of multiple people on a single platform that
makes it easier for them to access relevant information at the
same time (Gintova, 2018). Through social media use, various
people can connect with many others and at different locations
to interact and communicate at lower costs.
This has been the main reason why the regulation of social
media platforms becomes a challenge by the various public
safety administration agencies. As much as the agencies would
want to regulate the ongoing activities on the media platforms,
it would end up affecting people's communication and
interaction means (Beckett, 2018). It would also mean that
people start to incur more costs while using other forms of
communication since the social media platforms they are using
have been interrupted by the agencies. In the end, the routine
activities and interaction of people will be suspended.
Conclusion
Conclusively, it is apparent that social media usage has often
affected the way public safety administration is being carried
out in many circles. This is because it has led to the community
members trying to shape and realign their information that is
being shared on such platforms. The concept of social media
users often affects the public safety administration in any given
scenario because access to the information posted on such
platforms while trying to protect citizens from various issues
such as bullying and cybercrime is a big challenge for the
relevant agencies. Social media usage has continued to put more

people at risk, and there is a need for the provision of public
safety protection by public safety administrators. Some of the
measures that can be applied in curbing such issues are the
enactment of laws that provides public safety at all times. From
the text above, it is also clear that new technology has been the
leading cause of many people interacting on social media
platforms while also resulting in lawmakers trying to come up
with better policies and procedures to be used in the
administration of public safety. At the same time, those that are
tasked with policymaking have always argued that the
administration should always be in line with the duty to protect
the privacy and access, information, and data from various
individuals. In that regard, this paper has managed to analyze
the issue of social media usage as it affects the administration
of public safety at all times.
References
Baym, N. (2015). Social Media and the Struggle for Society.
Social media + society, 1(1), 205630511558047.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115580477
Beckett, J. (2018). Five significant issues in public law and
public administration. Handbook of Public Administration, 697-
719. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315093215-18
Boyd, d. (2015). Social Media: A Phenomenon to be Analyzed.
Social media + society, 1(1), 205630511558014.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115580148
Burton, G. (2010). Media and Society. Maidenhead: Open

University Press.
Gintova, M. (2018). Use of social media in Canadian public
administration: Opportunities and barriers. Canadian Public
Administration, 62(1), 7-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12298
Wohn, D., & Bowe, B. (2016). Micro Agenda Setters: The
Effect of Social Media on Young Adults' Exposure to and
Attitude Toward News. Social media + society, 2(1),
205630511562675.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115626750

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