Department Policies, Procedures, & Training Documents

2026 SBPD Department Manual & Policy.pdf

Field Training Manual

SBPD Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) Policy

Governing Body Specific Equipment Approval

Santa Barbara Police Department

Social Media Terms of Use

Terms of Use:

The Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara, and for those people who have an interest in the Santa Barbara Police Department.

By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by the Santa Barbara Police Department, you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username, and any information you provide therein. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by the Santa Barbara Police Department, by any visitor, follower, or subscriber, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy.

Moderation of Content:

The Santa Barbara Police Department does not allow posting of photos or videos by anyone other than members of the department. The Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara 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, products for sale, or promotion.
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.
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 that contain any external links.
18. Sexual content or links to sexual content.
19. Content that defames any person, group, or organization.
20. Content that is false or any malicious statements concerning any employee, the city, or its operations.
21. Disclosure of any proprietary, confidential, or privileged information.

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 Santa Barbara 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 805-882-8900 (SBPD Dispatch Center). 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.

Denial of Access:

The Santa Barbara Police Department reserves the right to deny access to any Santa Barbara Police Department social media sites for any entity who violates the Santa Barbara Police Departments 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 our department at 805-897-2355 or email RTC@sbpd.com

The Santa Barbara Police Department reserves the right to report any violation of the platform’s community standards/rules to the appropriate social media entity with the intent that, that social media platform will take appropriate and reasonable responsive action.

Facebook's Community of Standards:

All comments posted to the Santa Barbara Police Department Facebook site are also bound by Facebook's Community Standards, located at https://www.facebook.com/business/good-questions/community-standards

Instagram Community Standards:

All comments posted to the Santa Barbara Police Department Instagram site are also bound by Instagram’s Community Standards, located at https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-community-guidelines-faqs/

"X" (formally Twitter) Rules:

All comments posted to the Santa Barbara Police Department "X" (formally Twitter) site are also bound by Twitter’s Rules, located at https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules

(Posted August 10, 2023)

This page is currently in the process of being updated!

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