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Yes, They Are Records
Next to body-worn cameras, social media has taken law enforcement by storm over the last several years. Used as a community collaboration and communication tool as well as an investigative tool, Twitter and Facebook have become standard operating procedure- but usually without "records" in mind.
What we are learning in our police records training seminars is that most agencies don't realize they are producing "records" which, depending on the content, may be subject to retention and release requirements according to state law.
If the information published has to do with official agency business in any way, the records must be archived according to an approved retention schedule. Additionally, if your agency is posting, as one example, a wanted photo related to a homicide offender, that record must also be retained for evidentiary purposes. If a case gets solved according to information submitted to your Facebook or Twitter account (a tip), you can bet the information will become the subject of discovery and great interest in any court proceedings.
Archiving Systems
There are companies who have developed archiving software systems to address these concerns for law enforcement that provide the ability to archive, track, research and dispose of historical social media (and email) posts. These systems can save you a ton of work and provide the ability for these records to be automatically destroyed according to your retention schedules.
PRI has reviewed some of the systems on the market and recognize one that we like so much we have partnered with them:
PRI provides training in social media records management. Learn what the law requires in your state at one of our seminars!
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