The increasing use of social media by police institutions provides opportunities to reach broader audiences, build public relationships, and construct institutional images, while simultaneously creating greater space for public criticism and complaints. This study aims to examine the dialectical tension in the digital public relations practices of the Public Relations Division of Surabaya Metropolitan Police (Polrestabes Surabaya) in responding to public criticism through Instagram. Relational Dialectics Theory (RDT) is employed as the primary analytical framework to examine how tensions between institutional representation and public meaning-making emerge, are sustained, and are negotiated, while impression management serves as a supporting perspective for interpreting institutional image construction. This qualitative study adopts an interpretive paradigm and analyzes data collected through online observation and documentation of the official Instagram account from 1 September 2023 to 30 August 2024. The findings indicate that the Public Relations Division predominantly employs action-based responses through self-promotion and exemplification, while dialogic responses remain more limited. Self-promotion is more positively received when institutional actions communicated are directly aligned with issues raised by the public, whereas exemplification emphasizes humanitarian values and social commitment to construct a favorable institutional image. However, these strategies remain constrained by limited dialogic engagement and the absence of systematic evaluation. The findings further demonstrate tensions between institutional narratives and public meanings, particularly regarding institutional control, openness, confidentiality, and adaptive responsiveness. Thus, institutional image is not produced solely through organizational communication but is continuously negotiated through interactions between institutional narratives and evolving public interpretations.

digital public relations; relational dialectics theory; impression management; institutional image; public criticism; social media

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