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The phenomenon of 'citizen journalism' is a new one, spawned of new technology. Many people are keeping 'watch' on the police via photographs and videos that they take themselves. Others are even more radical and may try to engage in their own 'set ups,' such as proving how easy it is to breach security. "For individuals and groups who believe that mainstream news outlets do not accurately or fairly report the news, citizen journalism offers opportunities to present stories unmediated by professional journalists. However, citizen journalism presents real dangers both to individual organizations and people and perhaps to democracy itself. Among the skills that traditional journalistic practices require are unbiased news gathering, a separation of fact and opinion, and research skills" (Braunstein 2007). The proliferation of media channels in general makes it more difficult for law enforcement agencies to convey a coherent message to the public. Officers must maintain public trust through communicating directly with the public in an effective manner, given that trust is a cornerstone of policing.

Other, new methods of ensuring police accountability may be more crudely technical in nature. "In the past few years, more state legislatures and state supreme courts have created statutes and evidentiary rules that either mandate or strongly encourage audio or video recording of interrogations. More than half the states now have some rule on this topic. In 2010, that number is expected to grow" as will the use of in-car video systems "capable of recording an officer's activity for an entire ten-hour shift. Constant electronic recording of police activity may become the new core of police accountability" (Wallentine 2009). On one hand, many officers will find this frustrating; on the other hand it can be a way for officers to protect themselves against baseless charges of harassment. It may make evidence-gathering more difficult but also will reduce the chances of officers crossing the line and potentially getting evidence thrown out of court.

Technology has thus changed law enforcement and the perceptions of law enforcement. A final technology-related concern pertains not to perceptions of officers and the threats they pose but the threat of new types of crimes, specifically cyber-related crimes. Technology not only gives criminals enhanced ways to communicate: it also creates new forms of crime that solely take place online such as identity theft. Moreover, given that credit-reporting agencies require victims to issue an 'identity theft affidavit' and report the crime to the police to obtain restitution, the police are more involved than ever before in fighting 'virtual' threats to public safety (Newman 2004). Cyber harassment, using online venues to sell illegal goods,