Despite a growing body of recent literature that has examined the role of the police during the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about police approaches to citizen-engagement on social media in England. Accordingly, this paper draws on robust qualitative research conducted with police officers and staff across England who utilised either official, semi-official, or unofficial police social media accounts. The paper illustrates how they understood their role on social media during the pandemic, and the opportunities and lessons that can be learned. Above all, officers and staff in the study reported that the police transitioned between three distinct stages on social media during the first year of the pandemic. First, they discussed the ne...