Bellevue Police Department Social Media Terms of Use

An important goal of the Bellevue Police Department is to support lines of communication with members of the public, and to do so with a level of transparency that encourages citizen interaction. The use of social media enhances our ability to do this, particularly through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. The Bellevue Police Department offers Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor, YouTube and Tik Tok pages as a public service to the community.

The Bellevue Police Department manages these pages as limited public forums and therefore the following condition applies.

These accounts are not monitored in real-time. To report a crime, speak with a police officer, or for any other issue that requires police assistance, please dial 911. Postings made by the Bellevue Police Department to our social media pages are done so with the intention of providing the public with information we believe is important or newsworthy, and in certain cases is necessary to release in the interest of public safety. Therefore, the Bellevue Police Department reserves the right to limit posts from members of the public to those which directly relate to our postings, and which conform to our guidelines. It is not the intent of the Bellevue Police Department to provide a venue or forum for the expression and/or postings of unlimited comments, videos, or links simply for the convenience of the public.

The Bellevue Police Department makes reasonable efforts to check all posts for accuracy, veracity and completeness when posted; however, we make no guarantees or warrant posting reliability. Postings are made in “good faith,” though circumstances may arise that cause details to change over time, with new information being developed. Should information from a posting change, become stale, or be deemed inaccurate, we will make reasonable efforts to update it as soon as practicable, upon such discovery.

Under no circumstances will information be posted that compromises the safety of the public, Bellevue Police Department Officers, or members of other law enforcement agencies. In an effort to encourage law enforcement/citizen interaction and cooperation, we welcome the posting of relevant comments to our social media pages. Comments made by users do not necessarily reflect the views of the Bellevue Police Department or its members and shouldn't be deemed as an endorsement by the Bellevue Police Department or its members, nor should they be considered as being accurate or verified. This also applies to any advertisements or third-party links that may appear on our social media pages.

All content on Bellevue Police Department social media pages, to include user comments, is considered property of the Bellevue Police Department, and is subject to disclosure under the Nebraska’s Public Records Act. Comments posted on Bellevue Police Department’s social media pages are not considered private and are available for viewing by anyone accessing said pages. We urge you to protect your privacy and not list any personal or sensitive information about yourself when commenting on a post. The Bellevue Police Department does not and cannot guarantee your privacy when using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Users should familiarize themselves with, and abide by, the terms and conditions set forth by Facebook and Twitter when using those applications.

At times, we may choose to reply to user comments to answer a question or to offer an update on a posting. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to every comment, due to time constraints and other issues. “Liking”, “commenting” and/or similar exchanges/actions between the Bellevue Police Departments or its employees and a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram user does not indicate endorsement of that user’s actions or comments.

Though we welcome your comments, there are certain guidelines we require when posting. Posting, commenting, or messaging on this page constitutes acceptance of these terms. Comments must not contain any of the following things:

1) Obscene, vulgar, sexually explicit or otherwise offensive language/content, or links to such material;

2) Profane language, which includes cursing, cussing, swearing, or cuss words;

3) Threats of any kind;  

4) The advocating of criminal acts or other illegal behavior;

5) Material that has the potential to compromise public safety or the safety of law enforcement personnel;

6) Remarks that disparage or discriminate against anyone based upon their sex, race, creed, religious views, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, etc.;

7) Information that is clearly inaccurate, unverified, and purposefully designed to mislead others;

8) Campaigning of any type, political or otherwise;

9) Content that contains any personal or sensitive information (phone numbers, email or postal addresses);

10) Posting of videos or advertisements by anyone other than members of the Bellevue Police Department (If you have a video you would like to share, please private message us);

11) Comments not topically related to a particular posting; and

12) Personal attacks or name calling of any kind.

Any comments that violate these guidelines may be removed by the Bellevue Police Department at its sole discretion, and without warning or notice but will be retained for the applicable retention period. The Bellevue Police Department also reserves the right to block access to our social media pages to any user who consistently violates these guidelines, without prior warning or notice.

We understand that some topics may bring about strong feelings from users, but we ask that you please exercise good judgment, common courtesy and reasonableness when posting your comments. Thanks for your understanding in this matter.

The Bellevue Police Department reserves the right to make changes to these guidelines without notice, and when it becomes necessary to do so. Please check these guidelines periodically for possible revisions

Updated 12/01/2022