Met social media spend doubles in two years

It’s been a difficult year for the Metropolitan Police. Commissioner Cressida Dick was forced out in April after a string of scandals while the force’s broader handling of issues around racism and sexism has also been called into question. Given all that, it can be difficult to hire new officers willing to join the force; hence why it’s probably shelling out oodles on adverts urging LGBT+ applicants to sign up and a further £400,000 on a trailer which looked like a Bond film.

And social media is being used more and more to further that goal it seems. For despite criticism that police forces across the country are too obsessed with social media, the Met has only doubled down on its online efforts. A Freedom of Information request by Mr S has revealed that the police force’s social media budget more than doubled in two years between 2019/20 and 2021/22 from £141,000 to £289,000.