Professionalism, Ethics And Integrity Of The Bartholomew...

I. Introduction All members of the Bartholomew Police Department are reminded that professionalism, ethics and integrity are of great importance. Members of this department are held to a high standard of conduct and while on or off duty, because you are a police officer 24/7, 365 days a year. As an officer of this department your actions reflect on this department, the good and the bad set a tone and a reputation with the community in which we as a department serve. Therefore, no employee’s actions shall bring discredit or shame upon this department. The developments and evolution of technology are an invaluable resource to assist the department in the performance of its duties. Although highly useful, like a double-edged sword could be harmful or detrimental to the department, in that it presents opportunities to access and use technology in both legitimate and illegitimate methods. Employees may only operate department equipment for its intended purpose and are restricted to using department electronic messaging systems for official business only. II. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish departmental rules and regulations concerning the utilization of social networking sites, personal web pages or other internet sites when referencing the Bartholomew Police Department. Furthermore, it is to ensure that employees use appropriate discretion use of references to the Bartholomew Police Department, in order not to discredit or disrespect the department, to