Is Twitter a watchdog or a safety risk?
Twitter has done a lot to change the way that police and residents interact and some police departments. The site’s popularity has led nine police departments in Washington state to start a “Tweet Smart” campaign, which seeks to help prevents eyewitnesses from unintentionally compromising ongoing police operations.
“Please don’t tweet about the movements of responding police officers, or post pictures,” said Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste in a press release. “Sooner or later we’ll have an emergency where the suspect is watching social media. That could allow an offender to escape, or possibly even cost an officer their life.”
The list gives suggested do’s and don’t’s for the use of social media in emergencies. While the list tells citizens to “feel free” to use social media to alert friends and family if they have first-hand knowledge of a developing situation, it warns against using Twitter or other sights to spread rumors. Many of the suggestions are common sense, but one has press advocates up in arms.
“Don’t tweet or post about the movements of police, or post pictures of officers. Even what seems like vague information could be used by a criminal familiar with the area,”the release continued.
The police departments cited events in which tweets from well-meaning residents complicated ongoing police actions in Moncton, New Brunswick and Portland, Ore. These included police responses to a school shooting in Oregon and the search for a gunman in Canada. In order to prevent similar occurrences, the Washington police departments decided to release their recommendations.
While many emphasize that the social media guidelines exist only to protect officers and civilians, others fear that the guidelines are the start of a slippery slope which will restrict overall reporting. One Seattle photographer told ABC news that he saw a direct line between asking people not to share photos of crime scenes and eventually forbidding the taking of crime scene photos.
