NYPD Advises Cops to Be Funny on Twitter
Well, this should be fun. The NYPD’s officer Twitter school is advising cops to lose the jargon and amp up the jokes on social media. After the disastrous #myNYPD campaign and a series of Twitter-related snafus, including one officer who picked a fight with Transportation Alternatives by using a tasteless joke about a woman’s death on the subway tracks, the NYPD has issued official guidelines for officers attempting to use social media. The top one: Be funny.
“Tasteful humor is good,” the handbook advises, according to the New York Post. It reportedly goes on to give examples of cop-related humor, like this one:
“Officers just arrested a naked man in the bison paddock in GG [Golden Gate] Park. The bison seemed unimpressed.”
Ba-dum-chink! Just what we need, a little stand-up routine with our justice! Other Twitter rules include avoiding posting abusive language (yep) and confidential materials (probably) and avoid engaging with trolls. Officers are expected to tweet at least four times a day, so expect to see more cops glued to their phones.