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L.A. police group warns cops to watch what they put on Facebook, Twitter

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No one is safe from the searching eye of the law -- including cops.

A message from the Los Angeles Police Protective League today warned police to be vigilant about what they post online, noting that police agencies around the country are screening their own candidates’ social networking profiles to figure out who’s a good egg and who ain’t.

‘As police officers, we’ve known for a while now that some of the best places to catch criminals bragging about their illegal activities are social media networks like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube,’ wrote the LAPPL board of directors in a blog post on the group’s site. ‘But common criminals aren’t the only ones getting tripped up by their online indiscretions.’

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The LAPPL noted that in recent years ‘a number of law enforcement agencies have fired police officers over inappropriate postings on social media sites.’

The trend was noticed this month by USA Today.

In one case, two Washington state police trainees were terminated last year after posting personal photographs and disparaging opinions on their blogs. One posted photos of himself in uniform on a blog that also contained images of him drinking out of a pitcher of beer, according to a story from Washgington state’s Tri-City Herald. The second was dismissed after posting online comments critical of his classmates.

More recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an Ontario police chief who had read transcripts of sexually explicit messages sent from an officer’s work pager, rejecting broad privacy protections for anyone who sends text messages while on the job.

The LAPPL message also warns officers that material they post online may also be visible to the bad guys. Criminals with technical savvy ‘are sophisticated and proficient in locating people through Internet websites,’ the message said. ‘Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want a criminal or prospective employer (or your mom!) to see.’

-- David Sarno

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