SHILLONG: A few years back Meghalaya Police had 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 but there seems to be very few takers of the directive.
The circular issued in the year 2016 had 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.
However, three years down the line, it is seen that many personnel of Meghalaya Police of different ranks do upload their pictures in uniforms and with their weapons in different social media platforms
When contacted, officials at the DGP office said that they would again issue a reminder about the notice to its personnel.
Officials also said that the order was issued way back in 2016 and after the order many, young personnel have joined the force and they were probably not aware about the directive.
According to officials, though the order has to be followed, it also becomes very difficult for the personnel to leave their weapons anywhere as it would be a breach of security.
As per reports, recently a video had also gone viral where some cops were seen shopping with weapons in a store in Guwahati.
The guidelines had also 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 authorisation.