Nearly 200 NSW police officers investigated for alleged social media breaches since 2019, documents show

Documents obtained by the Guardian show breaches of the policy led to disciplinary actions against 66 officers over the same period, with these ranging in severity from counselling to suspension without pay. Four officers have resigned after being found to have breached the code.

Last year NSW police reviewed its social media guidelines for the first time since 2015, with the new version published at the start of 2022.

In the new guidelines, officers are warned that offensive comments made about colleagues could be considered cyberbullying, which could result in managerial intervention or criminal charges.

The policy says officers need to think about how they would explain a post to their mother and how they would feel if it was tendered in court or splashed on the front page of a newspaper.

More than 180 sworn officers had allegations of breaches made against them between January 2019 and March of this year. Of those, 69 allegations were sustained and 10 were under active investigation in March.

Of the sworn officers found to have breached the code, 24 were made to attend counselling, four resigned, two were suspended without pay, one was restricted from duties, and others were subjected to training and mentoring or received official warnings.

Officers are warned not to make public comments on politics or other government agencies.

The policy warns that the public affairs branch conducts regular social media searches on the names of some employees attending social media training and are often able to locate and identify the officers.

In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW police said social media was a vital public communication tool.