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Western Ukraine Police Using Facebook to Increase Police Accountability

Categories: Ukraine, Citizen Media, Digital Activism, Governance, Politics

According to a report [1] [uk] by RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe), heads of district police departments in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv have been ordered to set up Facebook profiles. As of June 25, 2014, all of them can be found and contacted through the social network, which the Head of the Lviv Regional Department of the Ministry of Interior believes will ensure prompt reaction [2] [uk] of law enforcement officials towards reports from citizens.

Public trust towards law enforcement institutions in Ukraine has reached an all time low during the recent public uprisings, known as #Euromaidan [3]. After a consequent change of government, the new Minister of Interior Arsen Avakov has led a practice of publicly reporting on his activities through a personal Facebook profile [4] [ru], which has been received positively by a large audience.