To think my police complaint wasn't kept confidential?

[sowsomeseeds]

Name changed as v v outing.
A few months back I made a complaint against a Police Officer
PC was a friend of mine
They were making comments which made fun of people with disabilities on social media and I couldn’t do with the drama of confronting them directly.
Basically just jokes and memes etc on their social media.
Rightly or wrongly I filled in an online crime report form anonymously, with dates things had happened, which social media platforms etc.
I didn’t think they should be in a position of authority if they were happy to belittle the most vulnerable members of society.
Within 3 weeks the PC and 3 of their closest friends (who were mutual friends) have all deleted and blocked me on social media and refuse to talk to me.
Do you think that my details were given from the complaint (IP address maybe?) or could they tell it was me from my mobile phone.
I 100% made the complaint anonymously.
Have they just guessed or presumed it was me?
I’m worried that my details have been given even though I reported it anonymously and asked to stay anonymous and it is going to cause repercussions for me.

During the Paralympics, some of the banter (targeted by the paralympians at selves and each other) would have been called disablism if it came out of the mouths of someone able-bodied. I can't muster an opinion about OP's actions without seeing what exactly their ex-friend wrote in full context. For all we know, the ex-friend IS himself disabled.

**Bombardier25966

I think they deliberately traced your IP address, found it was registered to your address, traced the pathway to identify which one of you last/most accessed his facebook and sent the complaint.

You're being ridiculous. Whilst this information is available to the police in certain situations, a front line plod would not be able to access it without creating an audit trail. That would open them up to criminal prosecution as well as dismissal. No one is going to go to that much hassle for something so trivial.**
Not if the front line plod asks a higher up plod. It’s pretty easy to get info if they want it, and to be honest, finding out a ‘friend’ had shared you personal posts and reported them would be pretty gutting. I’d imagine you’d want to know. The fact you have been blocked and he’s shared with 3 friends it was you, indicates that he does of course know it was you.
Further to this he also knows that of you ask anyone it will be obvious you did something. He knows that to point it out would put yourself.
It’s likely this will also end up in the Daily Fail and they’ll all be laughing.
If the others were such good friends, a private message along the lines of ‘... should be a bit careful on social media as his comments can be taken in a pretty bad way’ might have been a better approach. He obviously didn’t have a public account.

How would they know it was you?

Unless for example it's a case of 'there's been a report on X from social media' and then they've thought back over social things and realised that you've done cats bum face a few times or decided out of everyone on their last you'd be the one to do it.

Personally, what they have said isn't ok and is unprofessional.
The bit I would be a bit wary of is you've logged it as a crime.
It does seem like you're quick to claim a crime and report a crime but not able to say 'actually guys that's not funny & quite offensive.

I'd have understood calling them out on it.
I'd have understood (if theres loads of really bad things) anonymously talking to the station and raising a concern.
I don't understand reporting a crime from a couple of memes. It seems a bit like you've decided you don't think they should have their job so have gone out of your way to try and get them sacked. It's a bit spiteful.

It seems like a very cowardly thing to do, why not just confront the pic. Anonymous complaints should never be given credibility

I'm glad you knew what I meant @sowsomeseeds . I think I had over-estimated the general level of knowledge and understanding of some posters on the thread. If you do a public job and post offensive material openly on social media, you should expect repercussions.

I think my details have been given

You submitted an anon report you didn't give any details for them to pass on.

It's far more likely he's been spoken to and deleted a lot of people. You said yourself you hadn't interacted with him in about 6 months & he seems to be more a friend of your husband. That being the case you're exactly the type of fb friend he'd delete.

All he's done is delete you. He's entitled to. You trying to find out why or to complain about anon details being given out is clearly going to identify you.

Let it go. You made the complaint. It appears it's been acted on. Job done

Op are these online friends or people you are friends with in real life?

If you are friends in real life just send a casual hi hows it going text message to any of them...if you get a text back accusing you of reporting the PC friend, then you know for sure your details were leaked and you should then contact the police station and let them know your anonymity was compromised

Did you unfollow around the time you reported the PC? If so, could he have put two and two together?

I think they deliberately traced your IP address, found it was registered to your address, traced the pathway to identify which one of you last/most accessed his facebook and sent the complaint

😂😂😂

Anonymous complaints should never be given credibility

How could the police not give this credibility when there was incontrovertible evidence posted online?

Why aren't you telling your dh if you feel that strongly about what wad posted to complain but not enough to stop him being friends and presumably seeing the same stuff.

bastardkitty
I agree people should watch what they post on social media.
I've seen people share memes about where I'm from (for example). They're a risk of offence humour. I wouldn't share them because I'm careful on social media but they're quite amusing. Would I think someone should be sacked for sharing them? No. Do I think a couple walk the line of appropriate to be shared by people on some professions? Yes. And do I think I've seen some things online where I've thought 'that's quite unprofessional? Yes. But criminal?

The question for me is whether a couple of memes and comments (Which we don't know the content of) justifies the OP reporting a crime largely because she's decided that she doesnt think they should have their job.
Everything about the OP's actions seems spiteful to me.

(I'm all for raising professional concerns appropriately by the way. I feel the OP's actions were motivated by an attempt to realise their opinion tjat these people shouldn't have their job, which is my issue).

Anonymous complaints should never be given credibility

Ludicrous comment

I work in police complaints.

Online reports are sent to us from a central unit in pdf form. We only have the details submitted, not the IP address or anything like that. And we keep all complaints in a mailbox and folder that only the complaints team have access to. The officers wouldn't see the original submissions. Maybe if it came to a court case.

And contrary to some opinions expressed here I wouldn't dream of 'closing ranks'. Everything is audited, scrutinised and subject to independent appeal processes.

PCexhausted I’m laughing at the “closing ranks”. Maybe that happened many many years ago but not now. The thought of being a subject of complaint or investigation fills me with fear, I’ve seen other officers go through years of hell after complaints.

I suspect that after someone made a complaint about posts on Facebook it only takes one minute to see who has unfriended or blocked them around that date and even the most stupid of people would the have a massive clue as to who it was.

I presume they posted privately their memes, not publicly, which they have a right to

There are some very naive posts about what it's fine to do if you work in the public sector.

I strongly suspect that they just knew it was you, maybe because of the way you come across to people in public or social media, you could appear to be 'just the type' of person that would do such a thing.

Or

He can tell from his security settings set to that post?

I’m laughing at the “closing ranks”
Laugh all you want but like I said the police are corrupt.

Well done for reporting, OP.

I don’t think anything nefarious has been happening in terms of your IP address etc having been revealed -they have been culling social media contacts

just Not going to argue with you as you clearly won't change your mind. I'm not corrupt, I know plenty of idiots in the police but very few that I would call corrupt.

Hilarious. Youve made an official complaint against someone and are now upset they've blocked you. What do you expect?

They've worked out it is you from your demeanor and attitude. Anyway, you have no say in how they investigate and punish such allegations. He no doubt got a slap on the wrist for forwarding memes.

Finally, many people in the police, fire brigade and ambulance services deal with awful end of life and sometime a warped sense of humour is one way to cope with it.

I’m not upset that they’ve blocked me.
I’m upset that I’ve reported something anonymously, but it seems that my details have been given out!

@JovialNickname

Sorry to sound like a dumbo as I don't use Facebook, but isn't it obvious that they were reprimanded and told that someone had reported them for their Facebook posts, and as a result they have now changed their privacy settings and culled everyone but their closest friends and family? Doesn't necessarily follow that they know it was you

I did think this, as I know several people who have been reported for something (people who have 150 to 500 'friends' on FB) and they have culled them down by a third or so. Even half. So they just have their nearest and dearest, and people they trust on their friends list.

So it could be that. However, with it being police, they would have the means and nohow to trace and track where a complaint came from. So it IS possible they may know it's you. (Ignore people saying the could not have found out. They don't know what they're talking about.)

As I said, I did think it was a case of them culling their friends, but it's funny that all 4 people have deleted you AND blocked you - that suggests to me that they do know it's you. I mean, if people do a 'cull,' they don't generally block everyone, they just unfriend. So the more I think about it, the more I reckon they know it's you.

@sowsomeseeds

Can you ask someone else who is on their 'friends list' to see how many friends they have now. If it's only 'one' less (you obviously!) then you will know that they have blocked just you, and they definitely know you reported them.

If you didn't like them, then it doesn't matter anyway, but yes, it does seem to be a breach of confidence. I'm not sure what you can do about it though.

@MagentaRocks

Police officers are regularly reminded of the social media policy and standards of professional behaviour. If they get reported it is not the fault of the reporter that they get in trouble. It is the fault of the person who thinks it is acceptable to put things like that on social media.

Yeah this. People need to stop being nasty to the OP. A person who commits an offence is the arsehole, NOT the one who reports it.

So just stop it!

Funny how some people think the police are Gods to be looked up to, like their shit don't stink. Like doctors, nurses, teachers, dentists, and other 'professionals,' they are far from perfect, and some of them are capable of some very unsavoury behavior!

Bollocks to people thinking you're a 'grass' OP. Some people have the mentality that reporting people, or grassing on people, is a worse crime than stealing, or benefit fraud. Ignore them.

The behaviour of these 'police officers' is terrible, and they needed calling out on it, and reporting. You have done nothing wrong. They are behaving like they are, because of their guilt and shame.

Make no more attempts to contact them. You are well shot of these people.