THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Facing mounting opposition from within its own ranks, the state police department has backed out from its move to monitor the social media activities of its personnel. The department decided to freeze its order seeking details of the social media groups in which police personnel are either members or admins.
The state police chief conveyed his decision to collect the police officers’ social media data to district chiefs in the last week of September. However, the move was met with stiff opposition by the police associations.
Sources told TNIE that the idea to monitor the social media accounts of cops was pitched by a senior IPS officer attached with the police headquarters. The proposal was ratified by the state police chief, who directed the district police chiefs to circulate the decision among the cops as a note.
Though the order was kept under wraps initially, it emerged on public platforms after the Kollam city police commissioner’s note in this regard was leaked to the media. The initial plan was to collect the details of all such social media groups -- including those in Telegram, WhatsApp and Meta -- from the officers themselves. A declaration form was also issued which was to be filled out by the cops.
Meanwhile, the cops were not amused by the decision to curtail their presence on social media though the top brass maintained that the move was meant to protect the confidentiality of police communication and to safeguard the image of the department.
The senior officers felt a section of cops indulged in discussions and debates in social media groups using their professional contact numbers, which brought a bad name to the department. They also justified the move saying that it was in line with the conduct rule.
However, the move did not go down well with a large section of the cops, who raised the matter with their respective associations. The association office-bearers took up the matter with the police headquarters and expressed their reservations.
Sources said some of the senior IPS officers, too, were not happy with the move as they would also have to divulge their social media activities to the department. Their dilemma was that the details of their memberships in social media groups could become a matter of public interest and invite RTI queries.
“Suppose if an officer is found to be a member of a social media group having political undertones, it might trigger controversies. Naturally, some of the senior officers were having apprehensions regarding the move. The cops in the lower rungs too were miffed with the decision. The department has decided not to implement it for the time being, taking note of the consternation among its ranks,” the sources added.
