Police stop Berlin’s well-known Internet cops – BZ Berlin
You have hundreds of thousands of fans on social networks. They show up in uniform, at work – but sometimes they seem to overshoot the mark. Now the police are blocking Berlin’s well-known internet cops!
► The “pistol” case
Policewoman Leonie works in Spandau. She has more than 229,000 fans on the TikTok video portal and 28,000 fans on Instagram. She has often been noticed by the authorities’ management because of postings and comments, and repeatedly had to justify herself to the police’s social media team.
Leonie recently published a video that focused on her service weapon. Comedian Oliver Pocher (43) commented: “Tatütata the Instagram & TikTok police are here !!”
The result: an appointment with the director, disciplinary measures. Since then, all videos in uniform have disappeared on their accounts …
► The autumn “duct tape”
Police officer Mitch had a TikTok channel on which he campaigned against bullying and violence in uniform and gloves.
But in the summer he published a video with the headline “It’s time to say goodbye” and the statement: “You are no longer allowed to make videos in uniform”.
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Now he has a new account (approx. 8400 fans). Apparently in protest against the announcements from the authorities, he shows himself in the profile picture with tape over his mouth.
► The autumn “Profiling”
Policeman Denny has more than 143,000 fans on TikTok and 6600 on Instagram. He recently deleted a video in which he talked about “racial profiling” among whites. Apparently planned as a gag, the response backfired. The video has been deleted.
“If publications exceed limits in individual cases, low-threshold discussions and employee-supervisor discussions through to disciplinary proceedings are possible,” said a spokeswoman for the authorities.
From the point of view of the police union (GdP), the authority lacks a concept for dealing with so-called internet cops. “The social media guidelines are out of date, they leave a lot of room for interpretation,” criticizes spokesman Benjamin Jendro, who has been training police students in social media for two years.
He emphasizes: “There is no uniform procedure, and it is up to the respective managers how they deal with it and what they prohibit.”
Jendro’s recommendation: The authority should draw up clear rules and recommendations for action that are binding. In addition, all employees should be trained in social media. “We advise every colleague not to show themselves to private accounts in uniform on the Internet,” says Jendro.