The use of social media in public relations' decision-making: the case of Abu Dhabi police

Social media technologies are increasingly becoming an integral part of organisational decision-making process, particularly in organisations with frequent interaction with the public; of interest to this research are police organisations. Through social media technologies people are ever more empowered by an increasing ability to make their voices heard and having an impact on decisions, while police organisations are having unprecedented opportunities for understanding and responding to the public accordingly. This paper reports on work in progress that is part of a wider research into the use of social media technologies in supporting the decision-making process for public relations at Abu Dhabi police.