Please know that all messages sent or received by the Venice Police Department officials and employees in connection with official Department business are public records subject to disclosure under the Florida Public Records Act. By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by the Venice Police Department, you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information you provide therein. You further agree to the following terms of use:

The Venice Police Department maintains a social media program for the purpose of engaging and interacting with our community, providing relevant and timely community news, information and events, distribution of crime prevention and public safety tips, for urgent notifications of critical incidents which may affect residents, business owners and visitors of the city of Venice, and for those people having an interest in the Venice Police Department.

Limited Public Forum

All social media platforms used by the Venice Police Department are designated as Limited Public Forums. The department welcomes a person’s right to express his/her opinion and encourages posters to keep comments relevant to the topic in question. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by the Venice Police Department, by any visitor, follower, subscriber or fan, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy.

For purposes of this policy, a social media platform is the website or app offered to the public to provide audio, video, still-photo or written communication between other members of the public and/or representatives of certain groups, businesses, organizations or departments. Examples of social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, LinkedIn, website blogs with commenting capabilities, and forums and emergency notification services.

The definition of content as used in this policy refers to any written copy, photos, graphics, videos, live-video streams, comments or any form of communicative content exchanged between parties.

Emergency or Non-Emergency Requests for Police Assistance

The posting of requests for police assistance, regardless if it is of an emergency or non-emergency nature, is discouraged and will not guarantee a response by the Venice Police Department or any emergency service provider. In case of an emergency, or if police assistance is needed, please dial 911. If you wish to report a crime or information relevant to a crime, please call 941-486-2444. You may remain anonymous if you wish.

In the event you post information related to a crime, you may be placing yourself in a position of becoming a witness and subject to being subpoenaed into court.

Endorsements

“Friending” or “Liking” the Venice Police Department, or an officer or employee of the Venice Police Department, does not indicate an endorsement of that person’s actions or comments.

A comment posted by a member of the public on any Venice Police Department social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the Venice Police Department, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Venice Police Department.

Moderation of Content

The Venice Police Department 's social media platforms are intended to be "family friendly," When applicable, the department uses platform provided content moderation/filtering options to limit foul or obscene content. The Venice Police Department does actively monitor the social media platforms used by the department, and will remove inappropriate content as defined below, without prior notice, and as soon as possible. The department shall reserve the right to remove and/or block anyone who posts inappropriate material as determined by the department. This material may include, but is not limited to:

1. Comments not related to the original topic, including random or unintelligible comments;

2. Profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language;

3. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin;

4. Defamatory or personal attacks;

5. Threats to any person or organization;

6. Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures;

7. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale. This includes other online pages or organizations asking for donations.

 8. Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;

9. Encouragement of illegal activity;

10. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;

11. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party;

12. Harassment or content which constitutes and/or facilitates stalking;

13. Content which violates the right to privacy;

14. Encouragement of violence;

15. Repetitive content. Repeated posting of identical or very similar content in a counter-productive manner;

16. Comments which may reasonably interfere with, inhibit, or compromise law enforcement investigations, police tactics, police responses to incidents and/or the safety of police staff and officers.

17. Posts or comments which contain any external links.

The department does not allow posting of photos or videos by anyone other than members of the department.

Denial of Access

The Venice Police Department reserves the right to deny access to any Venice Police Department social media sites for any individual, who violates the Venice Police Department’s Social Media Terms of Use, at any time and without prior notice.

If you wish to contest the removal or hiding of your content, or your denial of access ("banned") from our social media platforms, you may do so by contacting us at 941-486-24444 and request to speak to a member of our social media team.

Facebook's Community of Standards

All comments posted to any Venice Police Department Facebook site are bound by Facebook’s Community Standards, located at http://www.facebook.com/communitystandards, and the Venice Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook’s Community Standards to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

The Twitter Rules

When applicable, the Venice Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the Twitter Rules, located at https://support.twitter.com/articles/18311 with the intent of Twitter taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

YouTube Community Guidelines

When applicable, the Venice Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the YouTube Community Guidelines, located at http://www.youtube.com/yt/policyandsafety/communityguidelines.html with the intent of YouTube taking appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

External Links

The provision of direct links should not be construed as an endorsement or sponsorship of these external sites, their content, or their hosts. The Department specifically disavows legal responsibility for what a user may find on another site, whether or not operated by the Department. The views and opinions of the authors of documents published on or linked to the Department’s social media accounts do not necessarily state or reflect the opinion, policy or position of the Department. 

The Venice Police Department is not responsible for the content, quality, accuracy or completeness of any offsite materials referenced by or linked through the Department’s social media accounts. By using the Department’s social networking sites, the user acknowledges and accepts the risk of injury or damage from viewing, hearing, downloading or storing such materials rests entirely with the user and that the Department is not responsible for any materials stored on other social networking sites or websites, nor is it liable for any inaccurate, defamatory, offensive or illegal materials found on other social networking sites or websites.

The Department does not endorse any content, viewpoint, products or services linked from its social networking sites and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. The Department does not warrant the accuracy or reliability of or endorse any products or service providers listed or linked to its site.

PRIVACY OF CHILDREN

We believe in the importance of protecting the privacy of children online. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) governs information gathered online from or about children under the age of 13. Verifiable consent from a child’s parent or guardian is required before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child under age 13. Our site is not intended to solicit information of any kind from children under age 13. If you believe that we have received information from or about children under age 13, please contact us.

Questions

Should you have any questions in regards to items contained herein this Terms of Use, please contact the Venice Police Department Social Media Coordinator at 941-882-7553.

Pursuant to FL.Stat. 668.6076: Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to us. Instead, contact our office by phone or in writing.

NOTICE REGARDING CONTACT INFORMATION FOR VENICE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S PUBLIC RECORDS CUSTODIAN

The Records Bureau is the Venice Police Department's custodian of public records. Pursuant to Section 119.12, Florida Statutes, the contact information for the Venice Police Department's custodian of public records is to be prominently posted on the Venice Police Department's website. 

The contact information for the Records Bureau is: 

Kelli Peyton
Venice Police Department Records Bureau
1350 Ridgewood Avenue
Venice, Florida 34292

941-486-2444 (Tel)
941-486-2099 (Fax)
kpeyton@venicegov.com