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MVP
12-01-2010, 15:41
L.A. Police Group Warns Cops To Watch What They Put On Facebook, Twitter http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/la-police-group-warns-cops-to-watch-what-they-put-on-facebook-twitter.html


A message from the Los Angeles Police Protective League today warned police to be vigilant about what they post online http://lapd.com/blog/when_it_comes_to_social_media_you_never_know_who_m ight_be_watching/ , noting that police agencies around the country are screening their own candidates' social networking profiles to figure out who's a good egg and who ain't.

"As police officers, we’ve known for a while now that some of the best places to catch criminals bragging about their illegal activities are social media networks like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube," wrote the LAPPL board of directors in a blog post on the group's site. "But common criminals aren’t the only ones getting tripped up by their online indiscretions."

The LAPPL noted that in recent years "a number of law enforcement agencies have fired police officers over inappropriate postings on social media sites."

The trend was noticed this month by USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-11-12-1Afacebookcops12_ST_N.htm .

In one case, two Washington state police trainees were terminated last year after posting personal photographs and disparaging opinions on their blogs. One posted photos of himself in uniform on a blog that also contained images of him drinking out of a pitcher of beer, according to a story from Washgington state's Tri-City Herald. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/The%20Tri-City%20Herald The second was dismissed after posting online comments critical of his classmates.

More recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Ontario police chief http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/18/nation/la-na-court-worker-texting-20100618 who had read transcripts of sexually explicit messages sent from an officer's work pager, rejecting broad privacy protections for anyone who sends text messages while on the job.

The LAPPL message also warns officers that material they post online may also be visible to the bad guys. Criminals with technical savvy "are sophisticated and proficient in locating people through Internet websites," the message said. "Don't post anything that you wouldn’t want a criminal or prospective employer (or your mom!) to see."



Police Recruits Screened For Digital Dirt On Facebook, Etc.



Updated 11/12/2010 7:58 AM *

By Kevin Johnson http://content.usatoday.com/topics/reporter/Kevin+Johnson , USA TODAY



Law enforcement agencies are digging deep into the social media accounts of applicants, requesting that candidates sign waivers allowing investigators access to their Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and other personal spaces.

Some agencies are demanding that applicants provide private passwords, Internet pseudonyms, text messages and e-mail logs as part of an expanding vetting process for public safety jobs.

More than a third of police agencies review applicants' social media activity during background checks, according to the first report on agencies' social media use by the International Association of Chiefs of Police http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/International+Association+of+Chiefs+of+Police (IACP), the largest group of police executives. The report out last month surveyed 728 agencies.

"As more and more people join these networks, their activities on these sites become an intrinsic part of any background check we do," said Laurel, Md., Police Chief David Crawford.

Privacy advocates say some background investigations, including requests for text message and e-mail logs, may go too far.

"I'm very uneasy about this," says Marc Rotenberg http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Marc+Rotenberg , executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "Where does it all stop?"

During the IACP's conference last month in Orlando, about 100 chiefs and other law enforcement officials who attended sessions on vetting applicants' social media use said they either request waivers and other personal information from applicants or are developing policies to do so.

Of "particular concern" is that defense lawyers could use officers' posts to undercut their credibility in court, according to a memo drafted by lawyers for the National Fraternal Order of Police http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Organizations/Non-profits,+Activist+Groups/Fraternal+Order+of+Police , the nation's largest police union.

"Testimony in a criminal or civil matter could be impeached using information from an officer's personal social-networking page," the union's associate general counsel Jeffrey Houser warned in the memo to be published next month. The memo is the union's most comprehensive instruction for police use of social media, said Jim Pasco, the group's executive director.

Among the concerns:

•In Massachusetts, XXXX, whose agency has requested electronic message logs, said a recruit's text messages revealed past threats of suicide, resulting in disqualification.

•In New Jersey, XXX said a candidate was disqualified for posting racy photographs of himself with scantily clad women.

•At the Florida conference, XX narrated a video full of officers' inappropriate Facebook postings, from sexually explicit photographs to racially charged commentary. All of it, he said, argues for better background checks for incoming recruits.

"If you post something on Facebook," he said, "it should be something you wouldn't mind seeing" in the newspaper.