After a string a racist incidents by two FDNY EMTs on Twitter, one of which was the commissioner's son, the NYPD has, for the first time in the history of the force, implemented a Social Media Standards Guide.
"Members of the service should be aware that activities on personal social media sites may be used against them to undermine their credibility as members of the department," the three-page report said. The report went on to point out how officers should "exercise good judgement and demonstrate the same degree of professionalism expected of them while performing their official duties."
But as Joe Coscarelli of New York Magazine noted, "From the gory message-board postings of the Cannibal Cop to the racist Facebook groups about the West Indian American Day parade, police officers have already had their share of embarrassments out in the not-so-new frontiers of social media."
[via Daily Intelligencer]
