G.O. 5.14 - Use Of Social Media

Document Identity & Administrative Details

  • General Order No. 5.14
    • Original Issue: 09/24/20
    • Current Reissue / Effective Date: NOT specified (same as original unless re-issued)
    • Section: 5 — PATROL FUNCTIONS
    • Order Title: USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
    • Accreditation & Standards References:
    • POSTC 2.4.122.4.12, 2.4.132.4.13, 3.4.213.4.21
  • Distribution: ALL PERSONNEL
  • Authority: Patrick J. Daley, Chief of Police
  • Supersedes: “Conduct / Social Networking” (earlier policy rescinded)
  • Legal / Evidentiary Caveat:
    • Policy is for departmental use only; does not establish heightened duty of care toward third parties.
    • Violations ⇒ administrative sanctions; statutory/law violations ⇒ civil or criminal sanctions via courts.

I. Purpose

  • Define the Department’s stance on:
    • Utility, management, administration, & oversight of social media.
    • Applies on-duty (official duties) and off-duty conduct when identifiable as NPD employees or when acting in a public arena related to employment.

II. Policy Statement

  • Computers, applications, Internet resources, & network communications must be used responsibly, professionally, ethically, and lawfully.
  • Prohibitions (without Chief’s written permission):
    • Posting / transmitting / disseminating photos, video, audio, likenesses, or images of:
    • Department logos, emblems, uniforms, badges, patches, vehicles (marked & unmarked), equipment, or any material that specifically identifies NPD.
  • All pre-existing laws, rules, & directives governing on-/off-duty conduct also govern social media activity.
  • Employees must comply with all federal, state, local laws & NPD policies on public info, arrests, investigations, & personnel data.

III. Key Definitions

  • Blog: Self-published diary/commentary allowing visitor responses.
  • Blogosphere: Collective world of blogs & their interactions.
  • Chat: Real-time text interaction among multiple users on a site.
  • Comments: Responses to online posts/articles.
  • Feed: List of recent tweets; embeddable elsewhere.
  • Forums: Asynchronous website discussion boards.
  • Page: Specific social-media location managed by an administrator.
  • Post (noun): Content shared.
  • Post (verb): Act of uploading / editing / adding content (text, photo, audio, video, etc.).
  • Profile: User-supplied personal info on a platform.
  • Social Media: Internet resources integrating user-generated content & participation (SNS, blogs, microblogs, wikis, news sites w/ user content, etc.).
  • Social Networks: Platforms for profiles & interaction (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Usenet, blogs, wikis…).
  • Speech: Any expression (spoken, written, symbolic, photo, video, etc.).
  • Tweet: Twitter status update of ≤140\le 140 characters.
  • Wall: A user’s own profile page plus updates.
  • Web 2.0: 2nd-generation web emphasizing shareable, user-generated content; often equated to social media.
  • Wiki: Collaboratively editable web pages.
  • YouTube: Video-sharing community with upload, share, view, rate, & comment functions.

IV. Procedure for Department-Sanctioned Social Media

A. General Operating Procedures
  • Each official page should include:
    • Intro clarifying purpose & scope.
    • Link to NPD’s official website (where appropriate).
    • Design tailored to audience (youth, recruits, etc.).
  • Creation & administration:
    • Requires approval of Chief or designee.
    • Administered by Information Technology Section or designee.
  • Page identification:
    • Clearly show NPD maintenance & contact info.
  • Compliance:
    • Content must comply w/ laws, IT policies, & records-management.
    • Social-media content is subject to public-records laws & retention schedules; must be stored/retrievable accordingly.
  • Disclaimer & Moderation statements (where possible):
    • Visitor opinions ≠ NPD opinions.
    • Comments monitored; NPD may remove obscenities, off-topic remarks, personal attacks.
    • All posted/submitted content subject to public disclosure.
B. Conduct While Representing NPD Online
  • Employees act as representatives; adhere to standards & proper decorum.
  • Must identify themselves as NPD members unless law-enforcement purposes dictate otherwise.
  • Prohibited without written permission:
    • Statements on guilt/innocence, pending prosecutions.
    • Dissemination of confidential information or media related to training, activities, or assignments.
  • No political activity or private business on official channels.
  • Access rules:
    • Department computers: social media access requires authorization.
    • Personal devices for official activities: requires Chief’s written permission.
  • Must respect copyright, trademarks, & service marks.
C. Recognized Departmental Uses
  1. Investigative Tool for evidence/info re:
    • Missing persons
    • Wanted persons
    • Gang participation
    • Cyber-crimes (cyberbullying, cyberstalking)
    • Crime photos/videos posted by participants/observers
  2. Community Outreach & Engagement:
    • Crime-prevention tips
    • Online reporting options
    • Crime maps & data sharing
    • Soliciting tips on unsolved crimes
  3. Time-Sensitive Notifications:
    • Road closures
    • Special events
    • Weather emergencies
    • Missing/endangered persons
D. Social-Media Checks in Employment Screening
  • Internet & social media used for recruitment and background investigations.
  • Searches:
    • Performed by non-decision makers; protected-class data filtered prior to sharing.
    • Searchers considered to hold sensitive positions.
    • No technique may violate laws.
    • Methods applied uniformly across candidates.
    • Internet data must be validated before use.
E. Personal Use by Department Personnel
  1. Allowed free expression so long as it does NOT:
    • Impair workplace relationships where loyalty/confidentiality critical.
    • Impede duties or discipline.
    • Harm public perception of NPD.
  2. Speech “pursuant to official duties” (exists because of the job) is NOT First-Amendment-protected and may lead to discipline.
  3. Any work-derived information may NOT be shared without written permission.
  4. Safety/Security Cautions:
    • Avoid disclosing NPD employment or posting data about coworkers without consent.
    • Prohibitions:
      • Displaying Dept. logos, uniforms, identifying items on personal sites.
      • Undercover officers: no visual/personal identifiers online.
  5. Code of Conduct applies to personal social media. Forbidden Content:
    • Obscene/sexually explicit material.
    • Speech ridiculing, maligning, disparaging, or biased toward race/religion/protected classes.
    • Content showing reckless/irresponsible behavior by self or other personnel.
  6. Consequences:
    • Prohibited speech may undermine/impeach testimony; may lead to discipline up to termination.
  7. No publishing that could imply official NPD positions without authorization.
  8. Personnel may incur civil liability for:
    • Defamation.
    • Publication of private facts.
    • Misappropriation (name/likeness).
    • Copyright/trademark infringement.
  9. No reasonable expectation of privacy online; content may be used in trials, civil cases, investigations.
  10. Privacy settings can change; assume publicity.
  11. Department may access any public online information at any time without notice.
  12. Reporting: employees must notify supervisors of policy-violating content.
  13. Department computers: social networking use prohibited except for authorized duties.
  14. Employees shall NOT post/disseminate any content tending to discredit NPD or its personnel.
  15. Personal pages may NOT depict uniform, ID, patch, or badge, nor identify employee as NPD staff without approval.
  16. Personal pages may NOT use rank/title/position to suggest representation of NPD interests.
  17. Photos of interiors of police building or crime/accident scenes require Chief’s consent before posting.
  18. Forbidden personal posts include any multimedia depicting:
    • Current/past/pending NPD investigations.
    • Criminal/civil proceedings involving NPD or misconduct allegations.
    • Brandishing weaponry or contraband (real or simulated).
    • Displaying tactical instruments (firearms, ASP, baton, OC, ECW, restraints, etc.).
  19. Specifically prohibited criminal-justice info postings:
    • Confidential/sensitive/copyrighted city information.
    • Data from ongoing investigations (including photos, video, audio).
    • Photos of suspects, arrestees, or evidence.
    • Personal statements about on-duty use-of-force events.
    • Comments on pending prosecutions.
F. Approval Process & Departmental Rights
  • Request to reference NPD on personal site ⇒ submit via chain of command to Chief.
  • Posting about coworkers ⇒ must notify & obtain their approval.
  • NPD reserves unrestricted right to access, audit, & disclose any content (messages, photos, videos, info) created, sent, or received via any equipment it issues or maintains, including keystroke logs and web-browsing history.

Ethical, Legal, & Practical Implications

  • Balances First-Amendment rights with departmental integrity, public trust, and operational security.
  • Serves as risk-management tool against:
    • Evidence compromise, prejudicial pre-trial publicity, & officer impeachment.
    • Civil suits (defamation, privacy invasions, IP infringement).
  • Aligns with broader POSTC standards ensuring professional, constitutional policing.

Real-World & Foundational Connections

  • Mirrors national trends: departments leveraging social media for investigations, outreach, & transparency while mitigating reputational risk.
  • Integrates constitutional principles:
    • Limits on government-employee speech (Garcetti v. Ceballos).
    • Public-records & FOIA considerations.
  • Supports community-policing goals by enabling rapid, interactive communication while safeguarding sensitive info.