RCMP Staff Sgt. Jerry Nutbrown brings you behind the scenes with a series of columns taking you behind police work and how it’s done in our community. If you have a question you think needs to be answered in Behind the Bison, send it to admin@borderpulse.ca and we will be sure to share it with him.
I’ve written before about the significant changes that the internet has forced on law enforcement. One particular area is with social media.
This includes many platforms that people, organizations, agencies, companies etc., use to distribute news, provide information, personal updates and sharing among family and friends. Unfortunately, this also breeds falsehoods resulting in extremely negative consequences.
In the recent past, allegations were made about a person which garnered tradition media and social media attention. Today I’d like to bring into focus the hazards of postings and buying into disinformation and then acting on it. A repeat point I will again make is that traditional media source their information and most others don’t.
This stirred up the community where at the end of the day, there was zero evidence presented/discovered showing any criminal offense had occurred. The negative effects this had on so many innocent people were terrible.
Countless times we will be made aware of online comments regarding police actions to see that so many are inaccurate most often filled with opinions presented as facts. We can accept comments critical to police actions, if they are true and accurate, but this is often not the case.
My hope is that these folks will go back and read previous articles where authorities have been explained and also the reasons for much of what we do and how we are required to do it. Blanket statements are most often inaccurate at best and outright false at worst. Too many assumptions are made by posters that lack actual details and information. I’ve also written about why we can’t comment on everything we do to the public.
It does no good to be unjustly critical or claim outright fallacies because someone wishes to post something negative about law enforcement or others. I wish we could address each of these with the truth, but locally this would take at least a fulltime position any benefits would likely be questionable.
We shouldn’t have to push back on false information portrayed as truth, but this is where we are in today’s world. If someone posting has proof to back their claims then they should be very willing to disclose that but better yet, if there is something known as fact on any law enforcement situation, do the best thing you can and come on down to the detachment and provide a statement and then be willing to stand in a court and speak the same.
We have pretty thick skin on negative comments as law enforcement officers are not infallible and we ALL make mistakes. However, false claims and guesses put disinformation out which speak directly against the intention of law enforcement in that we try to educate and inform the public with facts.
If someone online claims to have information pertinent to law enforcement, please come forward and present it so we can attempt to substantiate it but be aware of the impacts that false information can have on so many people. It’s not about quelling online speech but rather about truth and accountability.
Read more: Column: Behind the Bison – Crime Suppression
