“Oops, I better watch what I tweet. @CityPolice just followed me!”
Wednesday, July 18th, 2012, 9PM Eastern
We’ve seen that tweet more than a couple of times. It’s almost always done in jest, but there’s a grain of truth to it. Judges have reminded us, along with their plaintiffs and defendants, that nothing they post publicly can be considered private. And no matter how friendly tweeting police are, they are, after all, still the police.
So what’s the balance? In our July 18 #copchat, we’ll be talking about:
- Social media’s role in an investigation. What’s the difference between passive intelligence or evidence collection, and active “pretexting” — engaging suspects in conversation in an effort to learn more about them, their activities and whereabouts?
- The difference between “pretexting” and everyday public engagement. How can PIOs (public information officers) set the right boundaries, and help the public to trust their efforts?
- How PIOs handle engagement when they know the people they’re engaging with are can be under active investigation. How can they effectively separate themselves from investigative activities? Do they ever need to get involved — and if so, under what circumstances?
- How investigators can remain sensitive to PIOs’ engagement efforts — and to public sensibilities about privacy, police authority and their own role as potential assistance in an investigation.
- What the public should (and should not) expect from PIOs, investigators, and themselves.
- What the public can do to assist when engagement presents the opportunity for an investigative lead.
Dont’ think you’re a PIO? If you’re socially engaged for your agency, you are one.
As always, we look forward to seeing you Wednesday night at 9 ET!
