January 20, 2025
Queensland Police are calling on administrators and moderators of neighbourhood community Facebook groups to provide input into a program aimed at creating safe, credible and supportive online spaces.
The “Digital Community Safety Champions’” pilot program is being developed in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney.
Inspector Alice Carnes, from the Community Safety Group, highlighted the importance of the project, which is being jointly funded by the Queensland Police Service and Neighbourhood Watch Queensland.
“Increasingly, people are turning to social media to report and discuss crime and safety concerns in their communities,” Inspector Carnes said.
“While this can empower individuals and strengthen community bonds, it can also lead to unintended negative impacts, such as the spread of misinformation, creating fear and discouraging people from reporting issues through official channels.”
The new program aims to help equip neighbourhood Facebook group admins and moderators with the tools and resources they need to run safe, credible and supportive online community spaces, including to:
- Address community concerns and questions about crime and safety,
- Identify and respond to scams or harmful information,
- Share accurate and timely information to encourage positive crime prevention behaviours,
- Moderate or de-escalate content that breaches group rules, and
- Build trusted relationships with Queensland Police.
As part of the program’s development UTS are conducting a survey (see link below) to better understand the needs and preferences of group admins and moderators related to running safe, credible and supportive online groups.
“We’re looking forward to working directly with those managing these important online spaces,” Inspector Carnes said.
“Their insights are essential to designing a program that addresses their unique challenges and helps support community safety in online spaces.”
The survey is open until February 2.
Neighbourhood community Facebook group admins and moderators across Queensland have been invited to participate.
- External link: Digital Community Safety Champions Survey
