Editorial: 'Facebook' policies crucial for law enforcement

Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith faces a challenging task in coming up with a policy governing deputies' personal use of social networking websites like Facebook, but there is some guidance emerging on the subject.

As reported Wednesday in this newspaper, Smith "is stepping up training to help deputies make better choices online after a captain resigned in the wake of posting racist and politically charged remarks on his personal Facebook site, and a sergeant came under scrutiny for his (online) remarks about the president." Wednesday's news story noted that commanders in the sheriff's office "will complete eight hours of training next week focusing on how deputies can use social networking without discrediting the agency," and that "(e)ventually, the (sheriff's) office will come up with a comprehensive policy outlining what's acceptable online behavior and what isn't ... ."

According to media reports, most, if not all, law-enforcement agencies are taking proactive steps to keep individuals who might have problems establishing social-networking boundaries for themselves out of police uniforms, by checking out prospective employee's online presence in advance of offering them a job. According to an April 6 story in The New York Times, an applicant to the Southfield (Mich.) Police Department was rejected after posting on Facebook that he had "(j)ust returned from the interview with the Southfield Police Department and I can't wait to get a gun and kick some ass."

With regard to the Barrow County Sheriff's Office's current focus on developing a social networking policy, a recent issue of The Police Chief/ The Professional Voice of Law Enforcement magazine includes advice from an attorney laying out some general guidelines for a social networking policy. Suggestions include formulating a policy to ensure officers don't indicate their affiliation with their agency online, that they don't post photographs taken on department property or depicting department activities, and that they engage in social networking away from the office, and on their own time.

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