Oz police department sending 'racist' emails

Sydney, Oct 25: Following a surge in complaints about pornographic and racist emails being sent from the New South Wales Police Department computers, a new email etiquette guidelines will be issued to the officers by the provincial authorities.

Since 2008, 154 formal complaints about inappropriate email content have been lodged with the NSW Police Force's Professional Standards Command (PSC), the Sunday Telegraph reports.

Sources said the numbers were artificially low because many officers refused to reveal emails sent by their colleagues.

One email sent by a police officer was considered so serious that it was reviewed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions because it was about child pornography.

Many of the complaints centred on widely disseminated chain-emails which contained attached pictures of racist, pornographic and sexist images of "poor taste", the report says.

Recently, a report on the NSW Police Force misusing internal emails was sent to Police Minister Michael Daley.

According to the paper, the report makes four key recommendations to shape the new email etiquette policy, which includes a tightening of complaint handling and a recommendation to conduct more extensive investigations using audits of computers and recorded interviews.

A police spokesperson said current policies were "arguably the most stringent in the state.

We are seeking to simplify the current policy to ensure that all employees are aware of both acceptable and unacceptable or improper use of the internet and email."

ANI