SHILLONG: Meghalaya Police has come up with a set of guidelines and norms of conduct for use of social media by the officers, personnel and staff of the Police department.
The guidelines said whether using social media for official or private purposes, officers, force personnel & ministerial staff are to remember that comments will often be permanently available for reproduction in other media.
According to guidelines, use of social media for making public comment in relation to duties must follow the appropriate internal communications process and authorization.
“When using social media for official purposes it should not be used to express personal opinions. When using social media for private purposes, staff must ensure that they make it clear that any comments relating to Meghalaya government activities are not official, and that they are speaking only on behalf of themselves,” the order said.
The circular further said all police officers and personnel should refrain from uploading pictures, videos, etc., in uniform with service weapons and government vehicles besides uploading pictures of police establishments such as SP office, Police reserve, Battalion campus, PS, OP, etc.
The guidelines also asked police to refrain from uploading pictures and videos taken from encounter sites and sharing information with family, friends, media and other public domain relating to the incidents involving police, counter insurgency operations and militants.
Police officers are also refrained from signing up for websites/blogs/micro-blogs containing inappropriate and irrelevant content which may bring embarrassment to oneself and the department.
When contacted, acting DGP S.K. Jain said with so much of inventions taking place in the world of social media including inventions of new apps, it is important for police officers to be careful while using social media and to duly note what information should go to the public domain.
“Since our officers go to educational institutions to make youths aware about the pitfalls of social media, it is equally important for our men to be aware of all the merits and demerits of social media,” he said. He also said that Meghalaya Police would launch a campaign for the public shortly since people fall prey to nefarious designs of anti-social elements on social sites.
