Social Media Policy

Question

Review the social media policy above. Discuss the issues this policy may or may not bring up for a police officer, and what you can and cannot post to your social media accounts. Does this policy seem to be fair or does it go too far. Why or why not? Do you like the policy the way it is, or are there things you would change within the policy. Why or why not?

Answer

Social Media Policy

            The social media policy passed by the Terre Haute Police Department seeks to distinguish the use of social media for personal use and for professional purposes. The police job is a sensitive profession since it involves a lot of interaction with the community. Careless use can jeopardize the work of the police department. The policy thus aims at protecting all the members of the police department by defining professional use of the police department social media sites. All postings made while on-the-job-use are considered to be postings of the police department and not the individual police officers. The policy also guides professional use by prohibiting the police department members from posting information that might compromise investigations. The policy has also provided guidance for the personal use of social media to avoid creating a conflict of interest. Officers are urged not to disclose their work on their personal social media sites, and not to make any work-related posts on their personal media sites. The policy provides that careful use of social media might help in conducting investigations, locating missing or wanted persons, and gathering evidence of a crime that has been perpetrated online. The sites can also be used to engage with the community. The officers are prohibited from posting speeches that are related to official duty on their personal devices. They are also prohibited from disseminating information that they have acquired while in line of duty.

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            The policy is fair because its main purpose is to distinguish the professional use of social media from the personal use of social media. Given the sensitivity of the police profession, the department is keen to outline the proper use of social media to avoid creating a conflict of interest. However, the policy has gone to far by prohibiting police officers from getting into their personal social media sites while on duty. Social media is a source of information hence should not be entirely restricted. Instead, the police department should also provide guidance for personal social media use while on duty. It would be impractical for police officers to resist the temptation to log into their personal sites while on duty. Therefore, the policy should be amended to allow personal social media use while on duty, but with limitations.