Due to observed behavior, the Kawartha Lakes police are making a change to their social media policy. Unfortunately, when they release the names of people charged with crimes, some have found the accused on their personal social media accounts and left inappropriate comments. “It started to come to light when people were saying, ‘I’ve had these charges dealt with in court, but my name is still surfacing at the top of the Google search, and that’s because it’s on your Facebook page or your webpage.'" The names will no longer be on Facebook, but when made public they can be found through a link to a different website. The police hope this extra step will encourage other social media users to refrain from the previously observed behaviors.
The City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service says it’s no longer posting the names of the people they’ve charged on the service’s Facebook page. “Our job is to get the information out there, to our community,” said Sgt. Tom Hickey. “It’s not to facilitate public persecution of that person endlessly.” Hickey said the service was having some problems with Facebook users tracking down accused people and posting information or inappropriate comments. But that wasn’t the only issue. Hickey said the service began receiving complaints from named people after their charges were dealt with through the courts.
Due to observed behavior, the Kawartha Lakes police are making a change to their social media policy. Unfortunately, when they release the names of people charged with crimes, some have found the accused on their personal social media accounts and left inappropriate comments. “It started to come to light when people were saying, ‘I’ve had these charges dealt with in court, but my name is still surfacing at the top of the Google search, and that’s because it’s on your Facebook page or your webpage.'" The names will no longer be on Facebook, but when made public they can be found through a link to a different website. The police hope this extra step will encourage other social media users to refrain from the previously observed behaviors.