Overview
In this assignment, you will explore technology and community relations. Relationship building and transparency are two major goals of law enforcement, and one means of achieving them is through the use of technology in the form of police department websites. You will analyze the effectiveness of two police department websites in achieving these goals in this activity.
Prompt
In this module, you have learned about technology and community relations. You will now apply this knowledge to analyze two examples of police department websites and their ability to foster transparency and community relations. First, you will examine your own or any major city’s police department website and describe the features or functionality that promote transparency or building community relationships. Next, you will explore a second city’s police department website to identify any major differences in that city’s approach to transparency or community building. Then, you will describe what you most appreciate from each city’s website.
Specifically, the following rubric criteria must be addressed:
- Website 1: Describe the features or functionality of your first selected police department website that promote transparency and building community relationships. Provide the link to the site you are using. Justify your response to each of the questions below for the website:
- Is it easy to find the website, and is the website easy to navigate?
- Is it effective in communicating to the audience about the department?
- Does the website promote in-person community building? If so, how?
- Website 2: Describe the features or functionality of your second selected police department website that promote transparency and building community relationships. Provide the link to the site you are using. Justify your response to each of the questions below for the website:
- Is it easy to find the website, and is the website easy to navigate?
- Is it effective in communicating to the audience about the department?
- Does the website promote in-person community building? If so, how?
- Describe any major differences between your two selected police department websites.
- Does one support transparency and community more than the other?
- Describe which elements are most successful in promoting transparency or community building from each city’s website.
What to Submit
This assignment must be completed as a 250- to 750-word written document. Any references should be cited in APA format. See the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide for more information on citations.