The purpose of this study was to establish if the people who have 'liked' the NAMPOL
Facebook page found the page useful from the purview of police-community relations; to
determine if there is a difference in perception of police-community relations between those
who have “liked” the page and those who have not liked the page; to determine if demographic
variables impacted respondents' views on interactivity and engagement of NAMPOL's
Facebook page.
The study involved a survey of online respondents and Focus Group Discussions (FDGs) for
Windhoek residents who did not ‘like’ the NAMPOL Facebook page. Similar to international
studies that found that most public relations practitioners are using new media the same ways
as they do with traditional media, this study, established that the public relations division of
NAMPOL is not making use of the power of social media by actively engaging the community
as equal partners on Facebook. This is despite special emphasis by NAMPOL on the use of
ICTs as well as involving the community as equal partners in its functions and activities.
Additionally, the study determined that the public and in particular the youths, who are a
majority on social media, are also not fully exploiting the power of social media which are seen
as powerful, and if used correctly can change the modern communication sphere for the better.
The platform is one which they use to receive information and not necessarily engage the police
to their advantage. They are rather passive recipients of information/updates from NAMPOL
as very few reported that they wanted to interact with the police on this platform.
The study further established that demographic variables such as age, gender and employment
status impacted on respondents’ views, on interactivity and engagement with the
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NAMPOL Facebook page. In addition, there is not much of a difference in perception between
those who ‘liked’ the NAMPOL Facebook page and the public, as both believe Facebook, if
used optimally, can effect change for the better.
The study thus recommends that the NAMPOL public relations division should consider in its
communication strategies, the importance of two-way communication, especially when
engaging its most important stakeholder, the public, as indicated in their strategic plan.