Delhi Police to hire social media body to improve image

IN a bid to improve their image, especially online, the Delhi Police has decided to rope in a social media analytics and outreach management body which will, among other things, will create a YouTube channel that will showcase the cops’ “good work”.

In a report, Indian daily Indian Express said that a team of contractual employees, mostly young graduates working with the special branch of the police, handle the Delhi Police’s Twitter operations. But Delhi Police commissioner Rakesh Asthana wants a more professional in days ahead.

Last year, the Delhi Police felt the need for setting up an information technology (IT) cell when, during the riots in Northeast Delhi in February 2020, some unknown users posted fake “alerts” about the violence and tried to “tarnish the police’s image” the report added. The unknown users included people from Pakistan.

“Moreover, officers were also caught off guard about protest gatherings that were being planned on social media,” a senior officer said.

At the time, former Delhi Police commissioner S N Shrivastava had approved a proposal by the special branch to hire contractual employees, mostly young graduates who have a background in information technology and experience in handling social media.

Initially, the IT cell was looking for content which is unlawful but now, its members have also been asked to showcase Delhi Police’s messages on social media platforms.

“We have seen several instances of people appreciating unsung heroes after seeing a post online. We want to hire an agency to develop interesting and innovative content campaigns related with the Delhi Police, to have a proper communication strategy for various social media platforms, and to enhance the reach of content on a real-time basis,” a senior officer said.

“The concepts and campaigns proposal of the media agency should be in line with the strategy of the activities of the Delhi Police.”

The police of the national capital then floated a tender and met several agencies to fulfil its aim, the Express report added.

One officer said the aim is to engage audience on platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

“For Facebook, the media agency should create and manage pages of all units of Delhi Police. They should also… promote the webpage, website, fan page. They should post regularly, do online promotion and comments on posts should be maintained for maximum impact. They should also use Facebook to share videos or content that needs to be made viral,” the officer said.

On YouTube, the agency will manage channels to increase viewership and reach.

“The Twitter handle of Delhi Police should be populated with attractive relevant information, a database should be created and exploited for increasing followers… With the help of third-party applicants like Tweetdeck, Tweetvite, the agency should tweet and use events to reach out to people online,” the officer added.