CHALLENGES IN USING SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR POLICE MISCONDUCT DOCUMENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN KENYA
Keywords:
Police Accountability, Smartphones, Social Media, Oversight, Challenges, Kenya
Abstract
Smartphones and social media are becoming more vital in documenting police misconduct and promoting accountability. However, the challenges in their use, particularly in Kenya, have not been given much consideration. This study investigated the challenges individuals face when reporting misconduct using these tools and those encountered by oversight bodies in addressing such reports. The study was grounded on Social Learning Theory and Technological Determinism Theory. It adopted a sequential explanatory mixed-method design. Respondents were police officers and staff of the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA). They were selected via stratified random and purposive sampling. Data were collected using an online survey and interview guide and analysed descriptively and thematically. Findings indicated that the fear of reprisals, legal ambiguities, unequal access to technology, internet shutdowns, and privacy concerns discourage individuals from documenting and exposing misconduct. The challenges for oversight bodies included unclear evidence-handling policies, inadequate forensic capability, poor-quality and overly complex digital evidence, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. The study concluded that these challenges are interconnected, undermine police accountability, and fuel public distrust of police and oversight mechanisms. It recommends broad reforms to enable safe and effective documentation and timely, transparent, and fair institutional responses.
References
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Arshad, H., Jantan, A., & Omolara, E. (2019). Evidence collection and forensics on social networks: Research challenges and directions. Digital Investigation, 28, 126-138.
Bloch-Wehba, H. (2021). Visible policing: technology, transparency, and democratic control. California Law Review, 109, 917.
Bloom, R. M., & Labovich, N. (2020). The challenge of deterring bad police behavior: Implementing reforms that hold police accountable. Case Western Reserve Law Review,71, 923.
Brewster, M. G. (2023). Policing the police: Establishing the right to record and civilian oversight boards to oversee America’s police. Brooklyn Law Review, 88(3), 993.
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Bruns, A., Highfield, T., & Burgess, J. (2014). The Arab Spring and its social media audiences: English and Arabic Twitter users and their networks. In M. McCaughey (Ed.), Cyberactivism on the participatory web (pp. 86–116). Routledge.
Carroll, D. A., & Yu, H. H. (2022). Perception or reality: An examination of police misconduct, organisational justice, and promotion opportunities in the NYPD. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 52(5).
Cassehgari, R., & Simons, D. (2017, June 8). Caught on film: What the law says about filming the police in Europe. Justice Initiative. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/voices/caught-film-what-law-says-about-filming-police-europe
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D’Anna, T., Puntarello, M., Cannella, G., Scalzo, G., Buscemi, R., Zerbo, S., & Argo, A. (2023). The chain of custody in the era of modern forensics: From the classic procedures for gathering evidence to the new challenges related to digital data. Healthcare, 11(5), 634.
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Fallik, S. W., Deuchar, R., Crichlow, V. J., & Hodges, H. (2020). Policing through social media: A qualitative exploration. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 22(2), 208–218.
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Goldsmith, A. (2015). Disgracebook policing: Social media and the rise of police indiscretion. Policing and Society, 25(3), 249-267.
Hanley, N. S. (2010). A Dangerous trend: Arresting citizens for recording law enforcement. American Journal of Trial Advocacy, 34(1), 645.
Harden, K. (2017). Exposure to police brutality allows for transparency and accountability of law enforcement. UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law, 33(2), 75-100.
Harmono, F. (2024). The role of social media in realizing accountability for the implementation of E-Governance. Gema Wiralodra, 15(1), 627-633.
Hauer, T. (2017). Technological determinism and new media. International Journal of English, Literature and Social Science (IJELS), 2(2), http://www.ijels.com/
Hope, K. R. (2019). Civilian oversight of the police: The case of Kenya. The Police Journal, 93(3), 202-228.
Howard M. (2018). Police misconduct, video recording, and procedural barriers to rights enforcement. North Carolina Law Review, 96, 1313–1362.
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Kemp, S. (2024, February 23). Digital 2024: Kenya — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. (2020, June 30). Pain and pandemic: Unmasking the state of human rights in Kenya in containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.knchr.org/Portals/0/KNCHR%20COVID%20SitRep%201%20.pdf?ver=2020-07-09-160102-140
Mallett, M. (2019). Effects of cell phone cameras on police working behavior (Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies). Walden University.
Markussen, H. R. (2022). Conceptualising the smartphone as a security device: Appropriations of embodied connectivity at the Black Lives Matter protests. Critical Studies on Security, 10(2), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/21624887.2022.2128596
Mbithi, J. (2022). Impact of social media on national security in Kenya [Masters Project]. University of Nairobi. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/161950
McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy: The making of typographic man. University of Toronto Press.
Media Council of Kenya. (2024, July 18). Report on online mobilisation of anti-government protests in Kenya. Media Council of Kenya. https://mediacouncil.or.ke/sites/default/files/downloads/Online%20Mobilisation%20Report.pdf
Montaque, T. G. (2018). Policing the police: Analyzing the legal implications of the sequestration of cellphone video footage. Journal of Technology Law & Policy, 22(2), 3.
Murphy, J. P., & Fontecilla, A. (2012). Social media evidence in government investigations and criminal proceedings: A frontier of new legal issues. Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, 18(3), 1–45.
Mutung’u, G. (2017). Internet shutdowns: Not the answer to harmful speech online. Harmful Speech Online, 27.
Nabavi, R. T., & Bijandi, M. S. (2012). Bandura’s social learning theory & social cognitive learning theory. University of Science and Culture.
Nzai, S. K., & Makokha, K. (2024). Security governance and law enforcement by the National Police. Reviewed Journal of Social Science & Humanities, 5(1), 1-22.
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Ouellet, M., Hashimi, S., Gravel, J., & Papachristos, A. V. (2019). Network exposure and excessive use of force: Investigating the social transmission of police misconduct. Criminology & Public Policy, 18(4), 675–704.
Perez, Y. (2021). Effects of user-generated online video postings on patrol officers’ behavior. [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University].
Pitts, J. (2022). Justice or just us: Media portrayals and the context of police violence. Justice Policy Journal, 19(1). Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. https://www.cjcj.org/jpj
Poushter, J., Bishop, C., & Chwe, H. (2018, June 19). Social media use continues to rise in developing countries but plateaus across developed ones: Digital divides remain, both within and across countries. Pew Research Center. https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/15135408/Pew-Research-Center_Global-Tech-Social-Media-Use_2018.06.19.pdf
Powell, J., & Fitzpatrick, R. (2023). Police narratives and accounts for viral use of force videos. In Festschrift in Honor of David R. Maines (pp. 37-44). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Rodman, A. (2016). Filming the police: An interference or a public service. Mary's Law Journal, 48, 145.
Rossler, M. T. (2019). The impact of police technology adoption on social control, police accountability, and police legitimacy. In Political authority, social control and public policy (pp. 209-224). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Sakali, E. M. (2017). Examining the use of social media in public relations practice in the Kenyan government: A case of Immigration Department. (Master’s Project, University of Nairobi).
Sandhu, A. (2023). Smartphones as technologies of accountability: Exposing and investigating police brutality using smartphone cameras. In The Routledge history of police brutality in America (1st ed.). Routledge.
Schoenebeck, S., & Blackwell, L. (2020). Reimagining social media governance: Harm, accountability, and repair. Yale JL & Tech., 23, 113.
Schwartz, D. (2016). Harnessing power: Exploring citizen’s use of networked technologies to promote police accountability (Master’s thesis, University of Ottawa). University of Ottawa Research Repository. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/29f91d1d-1425-4a02-b37e-48fddd2ec84f/content
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Setyawan, A. A., & Barthos, M. (2024). Strengthening the authority of police investigators in addressing criminal offenses of disseminating false news in the digital era. Journal of World Science, 3(12), 1597-1607.
Simmons, K. C. (2009). New governance and the new paradigm of police accountability: A democratic approach to police reform. Catholic University Law Review, 59(2), 373–426.
Sinaga, L. R., & Larasati, A. (2024). The role of mass media in the emergence of deviant behavior in society. Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains, 5(04), 799-804.
Singh, S. (2024). The impact of social media on political mobilization: A comparative analysis. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(6), 5288-5293.
Sombatpoonsiri, J. (2024). Intersectional powers of digital repression: How activists are digitally watched, charged, and stigmatized in Thailand. International Journal of Communication, 18, 23.
Taylor, O., Philpot, R., Fitton, O., Walkington, Z., & Levine, M. (2024). Police whistleblowing: A systematic review of the likelihood (and the barriers and facilitators) of the willingness of police officers to report the misconduct of fellow officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 91, 102170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102170
Tosza, S. (2021). Internet service providers as law enforcers and adjudicators: A public role of private actors. Computer Law & Security Review, 43, 105614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105614
Tullah, S. (2014). Role of social media in citizen participation in transparent governance [Master's thesis, University of Nairobi]. University of Nairobi Digital Repository.
Udenze, S., Roig Telo, A., & Pires, F. (2024). ‘The EndSARS movement is an umbrella for other challenges’: Assessing Nigeria’s EndSARS protest through the theoretical lens of intersectionality. Media, War & Conflict, 17(4), 501-518.
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Walker, S. E., & Archbold, C. A. (2020). The new world of police accountability (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Walsh, J., & O’Connor, C. (2018). Social media and policing: A review of recent research. Sociology Compass, 13(1), e12648. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12648
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Angus-Anderson, W. (2015). Authenticity and admissibility of social media website printouts. Duke Law & Technology Review, 14, 33–47.
Arshad, H., Jantan, A., & Omolara, E. (2019). Evidence collection and forensics on social networks: Research challenges and directions. Digital Investigation, 28, 126-138.
Bloch-Wehba, H. (2021). Visible policing: technology, transparency, and democratic control. California Law Review, 109, 917.
Bloom, R. M., & Labovich, N. (2020). The challenge of deterring bad police behavior: Implementing reforms that hold police accountable. Case Western Reserve Law Review,71, 923.
Brewster, M. G. (2023). Policing the police: Establishing the right to record and civilian oversight boards to oversee America’s police. Brooklyn Law Review, 88(3), 993.
Broom, D. (2023, September 5). These are the places in the world where internet access is still an issue – and why. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/09/broadband-no-luxury-basic-necessity/
Bruns, A., Highfield, T., & Burgess, J. (2014). The Arab Spring and its social media audiences: English and Arabic Twitter users and their networks. In M. McCaughey (Ed.), Cyberactivism on the participatory web (pp. 86–116). Routledge.
Carroll, D. A., & Yu, H. H. (2022). Perception or reality: An examination of police misconduct, organisational justice, and promotion opportunities in the NYPD. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 52(5).
Cassehgari, R., & Simons, D. (2017, June 8). Caught on film: What the law says about filming the police in Europe. Justice Initiative. https://www.justiceinitiative.org/voices/caught-film-what-law-says-about-filming-police-europe
Chong, M. (2023). Calling for justice with #JusticeforBreonnaTaylor: A case study of hashtag activism in the evolution of the Black Lives Matter movement. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 13(1), 67.
CIPESA. (2019, March 18). Despots and disruptions: Five dimensions of internet shutdowns in Africa. CIPESA. Retrieved from https://cipesa.org/2019/03/despots-and-disruptions-five-dimensions-of-internet-shutdowns-in-africa/
Cohen, M. S., Mwaura, J., & McIntyre, K. (2024). Citizen journalism revisited: A case study of Kenya’s Kibera News Network. Journalism, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241279011
Cooke, T. N. (2019). Review of Digital citizenship in a datafied society, by A. Hintz, L. Dencik, & K. Wahl-Jorgensen. Surveillance & Society, 17(3/4), 588–591.
Cragg, S., & Jacobs, S. (2022). Police misconduct: Legal remedies (5th ed.). Legal Action Group.
D’Anna, T., Puntarello, M., Cannella, G., Scalzo, G., Buscemi, R., Zerbo, S., & Argo, A. (2023). The chain of custody in the era of modern forensics: From the classic procedures for gathering evidence to the new challenges related to digital data. Healthcare, 11(5), 634.
Dario, L. M., Cesar, G. T., Jalbert, K., & de la Torre, F. (2024). Corrigendum to “Quantifying the impact: From prevalence to harm in evaluating police misconduct.” Journal of Criminal Justice, 93, 102285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102285
Darko-Adjei, Noah. (2019). The use and effect of smartphones in students’ learning activities: Evidence from the University of Ghana, Legon. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 2851. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/2851
Dwyer, M. (2019). Reimagining police engagement? Kenya National Police Service on social media. Policing and Society, 29(7), 760–776.
Fallik, S. W., Deuchar, R., Crichlow, V. J., & Hodges, H. (2020). Policing through social media: A qualitative exploration. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 22(2), 208–218.
Fortin, F., Kentzinger, C., Donne, J. D., & Chopin, J. (2023). From the virtual frontlines: law enforcement’s experience with social media in policing activities. CrimRxiv. https://www.crimrxiv.com/pub/et0nxukq
Gillespie, T. (2018). Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, content moderation, and the hidden decisions that shape social media. Yale University Press.
Goldsmith, A. (2015). Disgracebook policing: Social media and the rise of police indiscretion. Policing and Society, 25(3), 249-267.
Hanley, N. S. (2010). A Dangerous trend: Arresting citizens for recording law enforcement. American Journal of Trial Advocacy, 34(1), 645.
Harden, K. (2017). Exposure to police brutality allows for transparency and accountability of law enforcement. UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law, 33(2), 75-100.
Harmono, F. (2024). The role of social media in realizing accountability for the implementation of E-Governance. Gema Wiralodra, 15(1), 627-633.
Hauer, T. (2017). Technological determinism and new media. International Journal of English, Literature and Social Science (IJELS), 2(2), http://www.ijels.com/
Hope, K. R. (2019). Civilian oversight of the police: The case of Kenya. The Police Journal, 93(3), 202-228.
Howard M. (2018). Police misconduct, video recording, and procedural barriers to rights enforcement. North Carolina Law Review, 96, 1313–1362.
Human Rights Watch. (2018, June 4). Kenya: Police threaten activists reporting abuse: End intimidation, ensure justice for 2017 elections abuses. https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/04/kenya-police-threaten-activists-reporting-abuse
Independent Policing Oversight Authority. (2024). Performance report January–June 2024. https://www.ipoa.go.ke/frontAssets/uploads/resources/1741084024040325.pdf
International Commission of Jurists Kenya. (2024, August 5). Social media: Mobilizing protests and demanding government accountability. International Commission of Jurists Kenya. https://icj-kenya.org/news/social-media-mobilizing-protests-and-demanding-govt-accontability/
Kemp, S. (2024, February 23). Digital 2024: Kenya — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. (2020, June 30). Pain and pandemic: Unmasking the state of human rights in Kenya in containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.knchr.org/Portals/0/KNCHR%20COVID%20SitRep%201%20.pdf?ver=2020-07-09-160102-140
Mallett, M. (2019). Effects of cell phone cameras on police working behavior (Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies). Walden University.
Markussen, H. R. (2022). Conceptualising the smartphone as a security device: Appropriations of embodied connectivity at the Black Lives Matter protests. Critical Studies on Security, 10(2), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/21624887.2022.2128596
Mbithi, J. (2022). Impact of social media on national security in Kenya [Masters Project]. University of Nairobi. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/161950
McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy: The making of typographic man. University of Toronto Press.
Media Council of Kenya. (2024, July 18). Report on online mobilisation of anti-government protests in Kenya. Media Council of Kenya. https://mediacouncil.or.ke/sites/default/files/downloads/Online%20Mobilisation%20Report.pdf
Montaque, T. G. (2018). Policing the police: Analyzing the legal implications of the sequestration of cellphone video footage. Journal of Technology Law & Policy, 22(2), 3.
Murphy, J. P., & Fontecilla, A. (2012). Social media evidence in government investigations and criminal proceedings: A frontier of new legal issues. Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, 18(3), 1–45.
Mutung’u, G. (2017). Internet shutdowns: Not the answer to harmful speech online. Harmful Speech Online, 27.
Nabavi, R. T., & Bijandi, M. S. (2012). Bandura’s social learning theory & social cognitive learning theory. University of Science and Culture.
Nzai, S. K., & Makokha, K. (2024). Security governance and law enforcement by the National Police. Reviewed Journal of Social Science & Humanities, 5(1), 1-22.
Obar, M. (2023, July 22). IPOA goes after cops recorded brutalising protesters. Kenyans.co.ke. https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/91518-ipoa-goes-after-cops-recorded-brutalising-protesters
Odeyemi, T. I., & Obiyan, A. S. (2018). Digital policing technologies and democratic policing: Will the Internet, social media and mobile phone enhance police accountability and police-citizen relations in Nigeria? International journal of police science & management, 20(2), 97-108.
Okeowo, A. (2022). Advancing accountability for human rights violations through citizen media: An African perspective (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pretoria). University of Pretoria Repository.
Ouellet, M., Hashimi, S., Gravel, J., & Papachristos, A. V. (2019). Network exposure and excessive use of force: Investigating the social transmission of police misconduct. Criminology & Public Policy, 18(4), 675–704.
Perez, Y. (2021). Effects of user-generated online video postings on patrol officers’ behavior. [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University].
Pitts, J. (2022). Justice or just us: Media portrayals and the context of police violence. Justice Policy Journal, 19(1). Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. https://www.cjcj.org/jpj
Poushter, J., Bishop, C., & Chwe, H. (2018, June 19). Social media use continues to rise in developing countries but plateaus across developed ones: Digital divides remain, both within and across countries. Pew Research Center. https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/06/15135408/Pew-Research-Center_Global-Tech-Social-Media-Use_2018.06.19.pdf
Powell, J., & Fitzpatrick, R. (2023). Police narratives and accounts for viral use of force videos. In Festschrift in Honor of David R. Maines (pp. 37-44). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Rodman, A. (2016). Filming the police: An interference or a public service. Mary's Law Journal, 48, 145.
Rossler, M. T. (2019). The impact of police technology adoption on social control, police accountability, and police legitimacy. In Political authority, social control and public policy (pp. 209-224). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Sakali, E. M. (2017). Examining the use of social media in public relations practice in the Kenyan government: A case of Immigration Department. (Master’s Project, University of Nairobi).
Sandhu, A. (2023). Smartphones as technologies of accountability: Exposing and investigating police brutality using smartphone cameras. In The Routledge history of police brutality in America (1st ed.). Routledge.
Schoenebeck, S., & Blackwell, L. (2020). Reimagining social media governance: Harm, accountability, and repair. Yale JL & Tech., 23, 113.
Schwartz, D. (2016). Harnessing power: Exploring citizen’s use of networked technologies to promote police accountability (Master’s thesis, University of Ottawa). University of Ottawa Research Repository. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/29f91d1d-1425-4a02-b37e-48fddd2ec84f/content
Servaes, J. (Ed.). (2014). Technological determinism and social change: Communication in a tech-mad world. Lexington Books.
Setyawan, A. A., & Barthos, M. (2024). Strengthening the authority of police investigators in addressing criminal offenses of disseminating false news in the digital era. Journal of World Science, 3(12), 1597-1607.
Simmons, K. C. (2009). New governance and the new paradigm of police accountability: A democratic approach to police reform. Catholic University Law Review, 59(2), 373–426.
Sinaga, L. R., & Larasati, A. (2024). The role of mass media in the emergence of deviant behavior in society. Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains, 5(04), 799-804.
Singh, S. (2024). The impact of social media on political mobilization: A comparative analysis. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 5(6), 5288-5293.
Sombatpoonsiri, J. (2024). Intersectional powers of digital repression: How activists are digitally watched, charged, and stigmatized in Thailand. International Journal of Communication, 18, 23.
Taylor, O., Philpot, R., Fitton, O., Walkington, Z., & Levine, M. (2024). Police whistleblowing: A systematic review of the likelihood (and the barriers and facilitators) of the willingness of police officers to report the misconduct of fellow officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 91, 102170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102170
Tosza, S. (2021). Internet service providers as law enforcers and adjudicators: A public role of private actors. Computer Law & Security Review, 43, 105614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105614
Tullah, S. (2014). Role of social media in citizen participation in transparent governance [Master's thesis, University of Nairobi]. University of Nairobi Digital Repository.
Udenze, S., Roig Telo, A., & Pires, F. (2024). ‘The EndSARS movement is an umbrella for other challenges’: Assessing Nigeria’s EndSARS protest through the theoretical lens of intersectionality. Media, War & Conflict, 17(4), 501-518.
US Department of State. (2023). 2022 Country reports on human rights practices: Kenya. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/kenya/
Walker, S. E., & Archbold, C. A. (2020). The new world of police accountability (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Walsh, J., & O’Connor, C. (2018). Social media and policing: A review of recent research. Sociology Compass, 13(1), e12648. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12648
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