With the advancement of social media, law enforcement agencies such as the DCI can no longer rely on print and local television to disseminate their message.
Today, DCI Kenya capitalises on storytelling to share important updates with the public. Their Twitter threads and Facebook posts are full of interesting vocabulary laced with humour to deliver a well-told story.
For instance, when congratulating Ferdinand Omanyala after his win and mentioning that he is now a ‘DCI sleuth’, the admin wrote, “Deafening sounds of gunfire rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Shall be replaced with, “Omanyala whizzed past Mathare’s dimly lit alleys whooomm! As he went after the thug’s jugular with unmistakable precision, leaving the subdued miscreant groaning si..ni…pole…basi.. in surrender.”
Needless to say, the comment section was full of KOT showering praises on the admin. Such a connection does not come easily.
You’d be right to argue that storytelling adds value to things we would never pay attention to. For instance, in 2009, journalists Rob Walker and Joshua Glen collected thrift items that did not have any significant value.
Things you could buy for as low as $1.29 (Sh165) on average. The journalists engaged published writers and asked them to write short stories about the items. The stories were so powerful that when they auctioned the items on eBay, they sold them for $3,612.51 (Sh464,352). This value was only achieved through storytelling.
Deafening sounds of gunfire rat-a-tat-tat-tat! shall be replaced with “...Omanyala whizzed past Mathare’s dimly lit alleys whooomm! as he went after the thug’s jugular with unmistakable precision, leaving the subdued miscreant groaning si..ni...pole...basi.. in surrender”
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) February 16, 2023
Notably, stories do not merely report facts but, more importantly, organise them into meaningful plots. Additionally, stories are 22 times more memorable than facts. This is why we can recall stories told to us from years ago, yet not remember a simple fact we heard a week ago, or even earlier this morning.
It’s no secret that stories are an effective tool when it comes to sharing information. After all, stories were humanity’s first method of passing knowledge down the generations.
It is easy to see law enforcement officers in a bad light. True, there are some ill-mannered officers. But if we truly want to change the narrative, and this is on the side of relevant bodies, then telling our stories the right way could help.
Thus, if an agency is active on social media, it has a chance to quickly and accurately provide information and other communications directly to a large percentage of the population.
These communications can be simple general information or a plea for help to solve criminal offences. Agencies can show true transparency to their communities by putting out information about successes and failures via social media.
At times, it seems the media attack officers and agencies for mistakes, especially when the agency attempts to keep them quiet. With social media, an agency can get in front of the issues and set the tone of the narrative of the incident before others can be negative and accusatory.
By using social media, an agency can build and improve relationships with its communities. Once the public sees a true commitment to open and honest communication, they can truly trust their law enforcement agency. With that trust, every agency can undoubtedly see great success.
In conclusion, the relationship between law enforcement officers and agencies should be treated with keen attention. While the citizens want to be protected, law enforcement officers should not only tell their stories creatively but also change their behaviour to reflect their narrative.
Media students at Riara and Rongo universities respectively
