Social Media Posting Policy

Our social media platforms help promote and disseminate information to the public about the Lake Wales Police Department, events in Lake Wales, and crime prevention and crime solving initiatives. These are limited public forums for discussion with and among our followers/fans about the posted information. We welcome you to share your thoughts and feedback with us, and we ask that you please be responsible and courteous in your comments and replies.

Our rules of decorum are in place to encourage civil discourse and to prevent a poster from disrupting dialog in a way that prevents or impedes the accomplishment of the purpose of our social media sites.  

Our purpose is to convey important public safety information, increase our ability to quickly, effectively, and efficiently reach Lake Wales residents to help us find criminal suspects, find missing and/or endangered persons, communicate public safety alerts, and further our mission of preventing, reducing, suppressing, displacing, solving, and fighting crime in Lake Wales.

Two social media platforms are monitored and managed by the Office of the Chief of Police. They are considered limited public forums and therefore the following conditions apply:

• Postings and comments on these platforms constitute acceptance of these terms.
• In case of emergency, or if you need police assistance, dial 911 - Do NOT use social media to report crime. To report crime dial 863-678-4223.
• If you post information related to a crime on social media, you may be placing yourself in the position of becoming a witness to a crime and subject yourself to subpoena and in certain situations endangering yourself or others.
• “Friending” between Lake Wales Police Department members and a citizen does not indicate endorsement of that person’s actions or comments.
• Comments posted by others on the Lake Wales Police Department social media sites are not to be considered the opinion of the agency; nor does Lake Wales Police Department endorse any third-party comments.
• The Lake Wales Police Department reserves the right to remove and/or block anyone who posts inappropriate material as determined by the Office of the Chief of Police and/or the Commanding Officers of the Lake Wales Police Department.
• The Lake Wales Police Department does not allow posting of photos or videos by anyone other than members of the Lake Wales Police Department.
 • If you have photos or videos you would like to share, contact the Office of the Chief of Police at 863-678-4223 x 260.

The Lake Wales Police Department welcomes a person’s right to express his/her opinion and encourages posters to keep comments related to the posted content. The Lake Wales Police Department reserves the right to hide or remove any comments that are:

• Inappropriate or offensive
• Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or violate the legal rights of others, include racism, hatred, slander, threats, obscenity, violence, vulgarity
• Spam or disruptively repetitive content
• Advertise
• Could harm the safety or well-being of one of our employees, including personal attacks
• Are off-topic or not related to the content within the post, or any content posted on the platform
• Have personal information about another person or that violate a person’s privacy; include copyrighted material that belongs to another person
• Contain links to websites

 Users may be restricted from accessing our social media platforms if they repeatedly and consistently violate this policy. To contact the Lake Wales Police Department Office of the Chief of Police about our social media channels, call 863-678-4223 x 260, or email jgladue@lakewalesfl.gov.