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pornography in police force a warning for employers and employees alike

A recent crackdown on computer usage in the police force has left 330 police staff under investigation for viewing sexually explicit images on their computers.

This discovery should serve as a warning to all employers to be vigilant about their employees’ use of work computers. Not having proper policies and processes for regular monitoring in place could damage your business. If an objectionable email is sent from your workplace to another organisation it may bring your organisation into disrepute and have adverse effects on the way you are perceived in the business community.

If the employer is aware of the fact that illegal or objectionable material is present on their organisation's computers, failure to stake steps to eliminate the material may have consequences for the employer as well as the employee under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act. Arguably, failing to take steps to eliminate the material may amount to abetting, in the sense of encouraging the employee in the commission of an offence.

Make sure internal computer usage policies are read, understood and agreed to, preferably in writing. It is no longer enough just to have policies sitting on an intranet or a manual on the shelf. By providing employees with computer usage guidelines upfront, there can be no confusion over what constitutes serious misconduct if it should be discovered that objectionable material is being viewed on work computers.

Employees should take responsibility for themselves, by making sure they are fully aware of any existing computer usage policies to ensure they are not in breach of internal policy.

Employees should be aware that their computers can be subject to audits at the request of their employer at any time. This means that employers can effectively see everything you have done on your computer – emails you have sent or received, websites you have visited, and files you have created or deleted. When conducting audits, employers should be wary of any employee with password protected personal files on a work computer. It may not just be objectionable material that you discover, but may bring to light any number of illegal practices going on.

In short, when employees are using a work computer, they should be asking “Is this something I would want my employer to see?” If the answer is no, then don't do it! That borderline joke email may just come back to bite!

For more information on formulating an internal computer usage policy we urge you to read our previous trendz article on the subject or contact us at Barbara Buckett & Associates for further advice.

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Disclaimer: This article is necessarily brief and general in nature. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication. Please refer to our Legal Notices.

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