Federation Chair urges officers to think before they send on WhatsApp and social media groups

30 November 2020

Essex Police Federation Chair Laura Heggie urged officers to think very carefully about what they send on WhatsApp groups and online.

Laura said: “Some officers think that they’ve got this right to a private life and as such their WhatsApp groups, their text messages and so on are private.

“When they’re being viewed by other police officers or staff, we’ve all got to remember we’ve all signed up to the code of ethics and with that there’s things that aren’t acceptable. We all have different ways of coping with things that have gone on, and a lot of it’s dealt with by banter and humour within the police. But there’s got to be a line and you can’t overstep it.

 “If there is someone that’s starting to overstep the mark, as police officers we’ve all got a responsibility to challenge that.

“It’s really hard because WhatsApp groups are the easiest way, especially with a shift of officers, to keep in touch with everybody and to get information out quickly amongst your team. There is a place for them and there is a need for them, but it’s just monitoring that banter and making sure people aren’t putting their jobs at risk.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales recently warned officers not to let social media ruin their career.

Tiff Lynch, PFEW Conduct and Performance Secretary, said: “It’s sadly becoming an all too familiar headline: ‘Cop sacked over offensive social media post’. What starts out as a private joke, or was even received unsolicited, ends up costing an officer their career.

“In an age where everything is recorded and shared for the goal of “likes”, it is easy to forget that we as cops live by a different set of rules.

“As police officers we have a different right to privacy – both on and off duty – as public interest has been used by the courts in order to override it. So, if an officer shares any post which others could perceive as offensive on social media or WhatsApp, there’s the potential for misconduct charges to be brought against them, even if it was on a personal phone or off duty. If an officer receives material which others could perceive as offensive, for example jokes that could be considered racist or sexist, they have a duty to challenge that material. If they don’t, again they could be up on misconduct charges.”