House Rules for Interacting with us online
Engaging with people across Lancashire is a priority for us and is at the core of our mission to keep you feeling safe.
We use social and digital media to communicate with you, have open conversations, ask for your help, and seek your opinions. We use a variety of channels across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.
These sites are used to share content, including: appeals for information and help; daily news and updates; information and insights on who we are and what we do; images of suspects; court results and sentencing; crime prevention advice; local information relevant to your area, all provided in a variety of methods – from press releases to video and audio content.
Our aim in posting on social media is to inform and engage you – our communities. Fighting crime, raising awareness of issues that could affect you and keeping you informed of local news from the force.
We have now amassed a huge following across our digital estate and it’s important that our channels remain a safe space for people to have open discussion, when appropriate to do so.
What we ask from you when you are using our channels
We love hearing from the public and we do our best to moderate, read and respond to all of the comments, shares and likes left on our channels. We want everyone to have a good experience and for our channels to be a safe space for our communities. That why we ask the public to abide by our house rules when interacting with us and each other:
- Please don’t use our social media or digital channels to report crime. They aren’t monitored 24/7, and we want to ensure you receive the quickest response possible. Please report crime using 101 or the online reporting form (https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk/.) In an emergency, always dial 999. You can also report information to Crimestoppers anonymously using 0800 555 111.This service is completely anonymous; you won’t be asked to provide any contact details and you won’t have to go to court.
- We reserve the right to block and remove users who:
2a. Post messages or content that could be deemed malicious, abusive, defamatory, hateful, racially offensive, sexually offensive obscene, inflammatory, or unlawful
2b. Excessively post/comment on our channels, increasing our digital demand, regardless of content
2c. Attempt to sell products or services or advertise a business on our channels
2d. Post spam comments or links on any of our pages
2e. Jeopardise live or active court proceedings in accordance with media law and reporting restrictions
2f. Pretend to be someone else
We reserve the right to remove posts that breach these guidelines without explanation. If any user consistently fails to follow these requirements, then we reserve the right to block them from any or all our channels. We want to reassure you however that we see this very much as a last resort and we will do our best to warn people first, so they have an opportunity to moderate their behaviour.
What you can expect from us
How often will I see your updates?
If you follow us on Twitter or ‘Like’ us on Facebook, you can expect regular updates, more frequently on weekdays, but also at weekends.
If there is a major incident that affects a lot of people in Lancashire, or an emergency situation where getting accurate information and instructions to you quickly is essential, we will use the Lancashire Police Facebook page and the @lancspolice Twitter account as the main platforms for distributing that information. Much of the information will contain links back to this website for more detailed information/explanations.
We also use our Community Messaging Service ‘Stay In the Know’ to provide local update, crime news and appeals, targeted by area and a number of interest groups which people can sign up to e.g. Rural Crime. We already have over 100,000 people signed up so if you want to join them have a look at the website here https://www.stayintheknow.co.uk/
Will you reply to me?
If you send a tweet to us or post on our Facebook page, you can expect us to reply if you need an answer. Whilst we do our best, please bear in mind though that we can’t always reply to everyone who posts, and it may not always be possible to reply immediately. There are often topics or cases that we can’t discuss in detail for a number of reasons, including criminal proceedings being active (i.e. someone has been charged with an offence and will be subject to court proceedings where they have a right to a fair trial) or investigations being under way. If this is the case, we will tell you. We also never name anyone who has been arrested on suspicion of an offence but hasn’t been charged.
Can I report crime online?
We don’t currently take formal reports of crime on our social media channels, but we have got a dedicated online reporting facility on our website which can be used to report all non-emergency crime/incidents. Use this link to access https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk/ If you use one of our social media channels to report any crime/incident we will aim to re-direct you to the online reporting service on our website.
Can I follow my local Neighbourhood Policing team?
All our local teams have a dedicated Facebook account and many also use Twitter. We also have dedicated twitter accounts for a number of specialist audiences e.g. rural crime, mounted unit, dog unit.
Why are you following me?
If we follow you on Twitter, please don’t assume we are monitoring your online activities, or you are in trouble. We follow people and organisations that we are interested in and relevant to policing, community safety, and Lancashire in general.
Do you remove posts?
We don’t have the ability to remove posts on an individuals personal Facebook page or Twitter account. However, we can hide comments on our own Facebook pages. Generally, we will not hide comments from members of the public that are made on our social and digital media channels, as we really want to hear your opinions on the issues that matter to you and have a conversation with you, while maintaining a family friendly format. However, we will consider removing posts or blocking users or accounts that breach the guidelines outlined above, without any explanation.
