Bangladesh: ICITAP-Mentored Police Experience Notable Increase in Social Media Engagement, Revealing Significant Growth in Trust During COVID-19

On May 12, the ICITAP-Bangladesh mission, within the framework of the ICITAP Strategic Communications project, reported a 252% increase in the "Reach" of the Bangladesh Police Headquarters (PHQ) Facebook page during the past month, with it Reaching 6.5 million people during the 28 days ending May 5. The related 71,000 increase in "Likes" reflects a 154% increase this month (compared to an average monthly Likes increase in 2019 of 14,920). Furthermore, the timeline of the last 24 months of data reflects a direct correlation between ICITAP guidance, training and virtual mentoring and the continuous increase in the Reach of the messaging of the PHQ Facebook. This exponential growth was confirmed through extraordinary access to snapshots of Facebook “Insights” data provided by police to ICITAP on May 11, 2020. “Insights” data is only available to police account administrators internally. Even with the extraordinary and tragic challenges faced by police due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the police have shown a willingness, capability and the ingenuity to implement new and effective communications strategies. "Engagements" showed a 201% increase with public comments being overwhelmingly positive. The evolving strategy of PHQ is providing the public with the information they want, and how they want it. Trust in the police is growing. In Bangladesh, ICITAP works with the support of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of State.