Acting commissioner chides prison officers over social media use

Black Immigrant Daily News

The content originally appeared on: Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Acting Commissioner of Prisons Deopersad Ramoutar. –

Acting Commissioner of Prisons Deopersad Ramoutar has cautioned all prison officers to exercise due diligence and astuteness, especially when off duty.

An advisory sent out by the communications department on Friday morning said he was also warning officers to be mindful of information they put in the public domain via social media.

Contacted to confirm the authenticity of the release circulating online, Ramoutar said he had observed some disturbing behaviour among officers on social media and felt it was important to remind them of the standards they are expected to uphold.

In a brief phone interview on Friday afternoon, he said, “It has to do with my officers on social media prancing about the place, behaving as if they are civilians, and that upsets me a lot, so I have decided to remind them of who they are, the type of job they engage in.”

The release said Ramoutar cited the practice of publishing personal information such as location, address and relatives, which could lead to their becoming targets for criminals. He reiterated that officers do not owe social media any information and said this practice could do more harm than good.

Hence he was “reminding his members of staff that once recruited, a prisons officer cannot fully function as an average person, as everything they do and say will be judged as a prisons officer.”

He added that not everyone understands or appreciates the virtue of being a prisons officer and officers must strive to meet the standard of the roles they took an oath to fulfil.

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