If you’ve worked in law enforcement for longer than a day, you’ve heard someone say, “I remember when we used to could...” and you fill in the blank. As the years go on the lists of “we used to could do’s” gets longer. Given the current state of events surrounding our profession we need to realize that the instead of teaching new officers all the “we used to could do’s” we need to prepare them for life in the fishbowl.
Our patrol cars are equipped with GPS units that can tell how fast we are driving, if our headlights are activated, if we are wearing our seatbelt, and if we are turning corners to fast. Our squad cameras are recording all the time as most of the new cameras record up to 60 seconds prior to being activated. Everyone has a smartphone with a camera — and they’re ready and waiting to film “police action.”
Most of us expect to relinquish some degree of privacy while driving in our squad car or interacting with members of the public but as a profession we have not prepared ourselves for life in the fishbowl.
All you have to do is read the newspaper or watch the news from time to time and you will read about members of our profession who were unprepared for life in the fishbowl. Police officers have been disciplined for Facebook posts, posts on local newspaper websites, and sending inappropriate text messages while at work
Here are a few tips to keep in mind while living in the fishbowl of law enforcement.
1. Conduct yourself as if you are always being watched — because you are.
2. Tell your immediate family members to conduct themselves as if they are always being watched — they are.
3. Do not post anything on any website that you are unwilling to answer for. There is no such thing as anonymous when posting stuff on-line.
4. Remember everything you do off-duty is also subject to public scrutiny.
5. Consider not having a social media account because God forbid you are involved in a high profile incident and the media — or those who would seek to do you harm — start harassing your friends or family members that they were able to find through your social media site.
6. The record button is always on even when you think it’s not.
7. Check websites like Spokeo to see if your personal information is listed. If so you can contact them and they will normally remove your information.
8. Remember you chose to be a public servant. Emphasis on public, very public.
We used could do things and not have to be worried about being watched all the time but that is no longer the case. Our family members and friends have also joined us in the fishbowl because of technology and the public’s hunger for information. Keeping the eight tips in mind will help you and those you care about survive life in the fishbowl.