Social Media Policy

Policy 336: Office Use of Social Media – Terms and Conditions

336.1 PURPOSE AND LEGAL STATUS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Social Media Accounts and Pages are maintained exclusively to disseminate official public-safety information, emergency alerts, community notices, lawful public announcements, verified information relevant to criminal justice, and other official communications approved by the Sheriff.

These social media accounts and pages constitute a limited public forum. All interactions are governed by the rules, restrictions, and viewpoint-neutral moderation standards set forth in this policy. The LCSO enforces this policy in a manner consistent with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Ohio Constitution, applicable Ohio law, and controlling federal and state case law governing government-operated social media pages.

These accounts and pages are operated as an official government communication channel and does not reflect the personal views of any individual employee.

336.1.1 DEFINITIONS

  1. Social media means content, including text, images, audio, video, or links, created or shared by the LCSO on online platforms that allow public viewing and interaction, including commenting or other engagement. Examples include Facebook and other similar platforms.
  2. Comment means any content, including text, images, audio, video, or links, posted by a user in response to LCSO content on a social media platform.
  3. User means any member of the public who views, reacts to, comments on, or otherwise interacts with LCSO social media accounts.

336.2 AUTHORIZED CONTENT POSTED BY THE LCSO

Only personnel designated by the Sheriff are authorized to post content on behalf of the LCSO. All official posts must be limited to the following categories:

  1. Public safety announcements and alerts.
  2. Emergency notifications, including severe weather information, road closures, and active or developing incidents.
  3. Missing persons alerts and BOLOs that are approved for public release.
  4. Press releases, official statements, and legally required public notices.
  5. Community outreach initiatives, public meetings, and event information.
  6. Crime-prevention education and public awareness messaging.
  7. Recruitment information and employment opportunities.
  8. Public service information that has been verified and approved by the LCSO.
  9. Responses to public inquiries, when appropriate, lawful, and operationally safe, at the discretion of the LCSO.

Any proposed content that does not clearly fall within the categories above requires advance approval from the Sheriff or the Sheriff’s designee prior to posting.

336.3 CONTENT THE LCSO WILL NOT POST

The LCSO will not publish content that includes or involves:

  1. Personal opinions, viewpoints, or commentary of staff members.
  2. Political statements, campaign-related material, or electioneering.
  3. Advertising, promotion, or endorsement of private businesses, products, or services.
  4. Information that could compromise an investigation, reveal confidential or protected information, or jeopardize officer safety or operational integrity.
  5. Content that violates privacy rights or applicable law, including but not limited to HIPAA, Marsy’s Law, or other state or federal confidentiality requirements.
  6. Juvenile information, sealed or expunged records, or sensitive victim or witness information.
  7. Mugshots or arrestee names unless publication is lawfully authorized and determined to be in the public interest.

336.4 PUBLIC COMMENTING AND INTERACTION RULES

The LCSO encourages responsible, respectful, and on-topic public engagement. Because these social media accounts and pages are a limited public forum, user comments must relate directly to the subject matter of the specific post.

Comments may be hidden or removed when they fall into any of the viewpoint-neutral categories listed below:

336.4.1 Threatening, Abusive, or Harassing Content

  1. Threats of violence or encouragement of harm toward any person or group.
  2. Defamatory statements made with actual malice directed at deputies, first responders, victims, suspects, commenters, or LCSO personnel.
  3. Criminal harassment, intimidation, or doxxing.
  4. Encouragement of self-harm or harm to others.

336.4.2 Profanity, Obscenity, and Graphic Material

  1. Profanity or vulgar language as related to sexual conduct.
  2. Obscene, sexually explicit, pornographic, or sexually suggestive content.
  3. Graphic images or descriptions depicting injury, death, gore, mutilation, or traumatic crime scenes.

336.4.3 Hate Speech and Discriminatory Content

  1. Racial slurs or derogatory language which incites a call for action protected classes.
  2. Content intended to demean, dehumanize, or incite hostility toward individuals or groups based on protected status.

336.4.4 Illegal Activity or Encouragement of Crime

  1. Promotion, instruction, or encouragement of illegal conduct.
  2. Attempts to interfere with investigations or evade law enforcement.
  3. Posts involving illegal drugs, weapons sales, or contraband.

336.4.5 False, Misleading, or Defamatory Content

  1. Knowingly false statements or allegations against individuals.
  2. Defamatory content.
  3. False or misleading information regarding LCSO operations, emergencies, or public safety matters which may constitute misconduct at an emergency.
  4. Misinformation that could hinder emergency response or endanger the public.

336.4.6 Off-Topic or Disruptive Content

  1. Comments unrelated to the subject of the original post which are considered spam or irrelevant chatter.  Criticism of the office is not excluded.
  2. Excessively long comments that obstruct meaningful discussion and/or exceed eight-thousand (8,000) characters.

336.4.7 Commercial, Political, or Solicitation Content

  1. Political campaigning, endorsements, or electioneering.
  2. Fundraising requests, petitions, or solicitations.
  3. Advertisements or sales promotions.

336.4.8 Privacy Violations or Confidential Information

  1. Posting personal or sensitive information, including addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, medical information, driver’s license data, or non-public criminal histories.
  2. Images or identifying information of juveniles, victims, or suspects not approved for release.
  3. Information protected under Marsy’s Law or other confidentiality statutes.

336.4.9 Impersonation, Fraud, or Misrepresentation

  1. Fake accounts purporting to represent LCSO personnel or officials.
  2. Misrepresentation of identity or authority.
  3. Attempts to mislead users regarding official LCSO information.

336.4.10 Copyright or Intellectual Property Violations

  1. Posting copyrighted text, images, audio, or video without authorization.

336.4.11 Malware, Links, or Technological Disruption

  1. Malicious software, scripts, or harmful links.
  2. Links to fraudulent or unsafe websites.
  3. Excessive outbound links unrelated to public-safety discussion.

336.5 MODERATION PROCESS, RETENTION, AND APPEALS

Moderation decisions are based solely on content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral standards. Actions may include hiding comments, removing comments, temporarily disabling comments during emergencies, or blocking users for repeated or egregious violations as permitted by law.

When content is hidden or removed, the LCSO may retain a copy or electronic record of the content along with a brief description of the reason for moderation, in accordance with applicable records-retention requirements.

Users who believe their content was moderated in error may submit a written appeal within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10 business days, to the LCSO Office of Legal Affairs. Appeals will be reviewed to determine whether the moderated content was protected under applicable law. If the appeal is granted and restoration is feasible, the content may be restored or the user permitted to repost. 

336.6 PUBLIC RECORDS COMPLIANCE

All content posted on Lorain County Sheriff’s Office media, including comments, replies, and direct messages, constitutes a public record and may be disclosed in accordance with the Ohio Public Records Act. Users are advised not to post sensitive, personal, or confidential information.

336.7 NO 24/7 MONITORING / EMERGENCY USE

This Facebook page is not monitored continuously.

For emergencies or to report crimes:

  • Call 911
  • Non-emergency dispatch: (440) 329-3710

Messages or comments submitted through Facebook do not constitute official notice to the LCSO.

336.8 NO ENDORSEMENT

Likes, shares, follows, or interactions with external pages or content do not constitute endorsement by the LCSO.

336.9 OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Social media accounts operated by the Sheriff or other LCSO officials may be deemed official government accounts when they are used to conduct or communicate official business on behalf of the LCSO. Any such accounts shall be governed by this policy and subject to the same constitutional, legal, and moderation standards.

336.10 POLICY UPDATES AND ENFORCEMENT

The Sheriff reserves the right to modify or update this policy at any time. Continued or repeated violations may result in removal of content, temporary restrictions, or permanent blocking, consistent with applicable law.