The Growing Problem of ‘Cop-Baiting’ by the Public

The political landscape has shifted, and police are increasingly the target of activist actions aimed at discrediting the institution and its members. Police must be more proactive in managing communications during political and other events. External communications – particularly monitoring and responding to social media posts across multiple platforms – should be a key component of incident and public order command and not an afterthought. Combating misinformation requires faster and/or real-time information release when possible, including photographs, live streaming, body-worn and dash camera footage, and other videos from events.