Is it illegal for police to talk in the community about calls they have went to?

Sean

I don't believe it could be considered illegal in general; however, I could see the officer's getting into a problem if they discussed the details of a call that released juvenile record to the public. Beyond that -- as previously established - its public record, the Police can't keep it private without a judges order.

Having said that, I am a former Sheriff's Deputy in a populous county and was also a Police Officer in a smaller town. Regardless of the size, it is not appropriate for law enforcement officers to unofficially discuss the details of a call with the public as you described unless it was in the form of a press conference -- particularly if they are uniformed and speaking to a group of people at say a restaurant.

As a former small - town police officer, it is well understood by these officers that you have to be very careful what you say because the community is small and word can travel fast. Just because its a small town does not lower the public expectation and official conduct of the police officer.

If this is something I experienced as you described it -- I would consider letting the Chief of Police know -- its not uncommon for a citizen to ask to speak with the Chief in small towns to let them know of the problem so he can put the word out to knock it off. You don't even need to tell him who the officers were if you don't know.

Sparky

Matters of public record are ok to talk about. The only problem is that the information sometimes is incorrect and that can cause problems for people. The officers could be held civilly liable for damages if what they talk about is incorrect and it causes problems for someone undeservedly,
Generally, we don't talk about anything sensitive and we generally never tell names in public. We let everything go through a public information officer.

Cptainamer

Report them to the head of the department they work in. They are not allowed to discuss calls in that kind of detail. they can in general terms talk about calls they have been on but not names or other personal details.

Masterted

I wouldn't be concerned unless they are talking about you + you get to hear some cool stories.

If it was about you then trying to get them to stop may bring up more of a mess then letting them tell there stories and moving on

Bill M

i think they call talk about the type of calls just not release info-- like names and stuff

Coke

Many smaller communities publish all calls by police and fire departments. Not all details are open to public view but most are public record already.

Ranger K

It's TOTALLY legal, and all open for public consumption.

It's only MEDICAL calls that cannot be shared. But law enforcement calls? No problems there.

Novarobin

If charges are laid, they are a matter of public knowledge anyway. If not, it is wrong and they should be subject to discplinary action.

ETA- I am in Canada, perhaps things are different in the US, but here, you cannot release names unless charges have been laid.

Vegetarian Rockstar

Yes, I do believe that is illegal. If you think police don't do illegal things, you'd be wrong. The police here smoke pot like crazy.

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