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The newly announced ban was recommended following an investigation into allegations of misconduct regarding a May car crash involving a drunk police officer.
The NSW Police Force (NSWPF) has announced a blanket ban on all non-SMS messaging applications and social media platforms on police-issued devices.
“The NSW Police Force has introduced security software that provides secured access to approved NSWPF systems and applications for all users,” a NSWPF spokesperson said.
“With this software installed, social media and other personal apps will not work or be downloadable to NSWPF-issued devices.”
The ban follows a recommendation from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) to the NSW Police Commissioner in July 2024 to “issue guidance to her officers on the use of encrypted applications and the deletion of messages from police-issued phones”.
The recommendation was one of several made by the LECC following an investigation into the conduct of police following a car crash involving a senior NSW Police Force officer and an unmarked police car in May.
The LECC received several complaints regarding the initial investigation of the incident and a later insurance claim. The LECC ultimately found that the senior officer in question – whose identity remains withheld – was treated more leniently following the incident and that he had attempted to avoid a breath test in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
The officer has also been “deliberately dishonest” when filling out an insurance claim regarding the car crash.
The LECC also found reason to be concerned over the deletion of “work-related electronic messages” from police devices during the crash investigation.
The NSWPF Professional Standards Command is in the process of “reviewing other LECC positions and opinions from that same report”.
However, some police are already considering ways to get around the ban.
“We communicate with each other, with other investigators on the same job,” one police officer told The Daily Telegraph.
The ban “means we are going to have to get burners now and carry two phones”, the officer said.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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