Protecting public-facing professionals and their dependants online (3PO) aims to understand the specific risks faced by police officers and their families as well as their privacy and protection requirements. Researchers and partners will design technologies and mechanisms to empower and safeguard police and their families online.
The project is led by Sheffield Hallam’s Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research (CENTRIC) alongside researchers at the University of Oxford, Cambridge University, UCL and Edinburgh Napier. The Home Office and six UK police forces are also partners in the project.
It is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Strategic Priority Fund as part of the Protecting Citizens Online programme, initiated in response to the 2020 Online Harms White Paper. The project is administered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of UKRI.
The project will work closely with the National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence Online (REPHRAIN).
Uniformed police officers are often targeted online due to their profession, suffering from harassment, hate crimes and other forms of online harm.
Their partners, families and children are often also targeted or must accept restrictions to their online presence to safeguard their police family members.
Guidance for police officers from the National Police Chiefs’ Council states that ‘officers and staff should be aware that they may put themselves and/or family or colleagues at risk if prudence is not exercised in the use of social media outside work’.
3PO will build an understanding of specific risks, challenges and privacy needs of public facing professionals and their families. It will also create tools and mechanisms to support safety and privacy that are mindful of these challenges and reflect the practical realities of family life.
Saskia Bayerl, Professor of Digital Communication and Security at Sheffield Hallam- University is leading the project.
Prof Bayerl said: “As public-facing professionals, police officers and their dependants face challenges and risks as online citizens.
“The extent of those online risks for officers and their families is currently not known, nor do any credible plans exist for safeguarding this group online.
“This project will help us to understand the risks they face and design solutions, to help keep them safe and enable them to participate fully online.”
The five university partners bring expertise in computer sciences, information systems, criminology, psychology, law, linguistics and management sciences. The police and government partners will ensure the project works for the target group.
South Yorkshire Police is one of the six forces involved in the project.
South Yorkshire Police Inspector John Crapper, from the force’s Strategic Delivery Unit, said: “The wellbeing and safety of our officers and staff is of paramount importance. We fully support anything that will help shed more light on existing and emerging risks to our workforce in the digital world, and welcome innovative solutions to any issues which may become apparent.
“Many SYP officers and staff have social media accounts for personal use and due to the often sensitive nature of their work, they must be extra vigilant around their online safety and security. This project will make a vital contribution to keeping them, and their families and loved ones, safer in their private lives.”
The project launches in April and will run for 36 months.
