Media Policy
Last Updated: February 4, 2015
This Social Media Policy is intended to outline our philosophy and approach to Winkler Police Service conduct on social media platforms. The information contained in this Policy may be altered or supplemented on an on-going basis.
IF YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY
The City of Winkler Police Service social media accounts are intended to be used as a means for Police Service personnel to provide information to the public and engage in open discussion in a manner that extends our vision of “Safety, Peace and Order in our Community” and exemplifies our mission statement of being “committed to providing the highest possible level of police service by maintaining a pro-active approach to policing through community partnerships”.
If you wish to contact the Winkler Police Service to request information, compliment an officer, or file a complaint about an officer, please visit our official website (winklerpolice.ca) or call our Non-Emergency Service Number at 204-325-0829.
The opinions and/or views expressed on social media platforms used by the Winkler Police Service represent the thoughts of individuals and online communities, and are not solely those of the Winkler Police Service.
These social media accounts are maintained and moderated by City of Winkler Police Service personnel in order to ensure that posted comments are constructive, suitable for all readers, and respectful of all subscribers. Moderation will take place as required. The Winkler Police Service will make reasonable efforts to monitor, moderate, and engage with individuals and online communities through our use of social media. We will strive to acknowledge comments or queries, however our response times may depend on the volume of posts and personnel available.
Posted comments must comply with the following considerations:
Comments must be civil; inappropriate language will not be tolerated. Posts containing threatening, profane, discriminatory, racist, sexist, offensive, obscene, inflammatory, unlawful or otherwise objectionable statements, language or content will not be responded to by Winkler Police Service personnel and will be removed wherever possible.
Advertising or promotional announcements are not permitted. Posts deemed as spam and/or explicit commercial endorsements will be removed.
Comments and/or replies cannot serve electoral campaigns or any other political purposes. Political messages will not be published and posts made by others will be removed.
Comments may not contain links to other third party websites, social media pages, etc.
The Winkler Police Service reserves the right to block users at our sole discretion if their online conduct is deemed inappropriate. Examples of this type of behavior include, but are not limited to, posts or comments that may be abusive or insulting, inaccurate, promotional, spam, and/or irrelevant.
We recognize that questioning and differing opinions are part of conversation, however posts with personal attacks or references to the personality of individuals will be removed wherever possible.
Individuals or groups should not contact us through social media accounts to report suspicious activity, inform us of a crime taking place, or to report a crime after it has occurred.
Comments or questions should be within the scope of the topic under discussion. General questions and inquiries (including non-emergent, non-criminal complaints related to traffic and bylaw) are most quickly responded to by calling our non-emergency line at 204-325-0829.
Comments do not represent any individual other than the one posting the comment. Individuals are responsible for what they post. Comments must not breach any law, confidentiality, or copyright. Anyone posting comments contrary to this Policy may be prohibited from future participation and the offending comments will be deleted.
To protect our privacy and the privacy of others, do not include any personal information on our Facebook page, or in any online comments directed to us. The Winkler Police Service is not responsible for the use and/or misuse of any personal information posted on our profile page by an individual or group.
