Myspace

[jimsmith]

A guy i know just got asked in the BI interview for his myspace password.
Other people have rumored that the BI investigators check old email accounts like hotmail etc.
I noticed on my SPH That Portland wanted the last 5 years of email addressers.

so my question is this :

can police background investigators access email/myspace without a warrant?

They can look all they like at my email i have nothing to hide. But i do feel I have a duty to protect the information about other people that has been entrusted to me.

:confused:

[Citicop]

Of course they can.

A warrant only applies if you don't consent to the search. If you don't want them to look, you can not give them the password, and withdraw from the process.

It's like your medical records. HIPA says that they can't access them without your permission. You don't have to give them permission, and they don't have to hire you.

Citicop.

[xndr]

Think about it.. These online social sites (myspace, facebook, etc..) are how people express themselves now adays. If you are a background investigator, wouldn't you want and need to know how your potential hire is going to "express" themselves to the public?

I've seen more and more people fail backgrounds (1 probationary employee fired) due to the stuff they decide to put on these sites.

My suggestion to people going through backgrounds is to just not have one. Even the funniest little halloween picture that you've posted on your page that could seem so innocent could mean something entirely different to your potential employer.

[DZL]

I have a MySpace page, and I wouldn't mind giving a BI my password... I have nothing on there i'm worried about... Only people that would be upset if they were asked for this information are those that might think they have something of questionable character on there... JMO of course...

[mpd145]

I have a MySpace page, and I wouldn't mind giving a BI my password... I have nothing on there i'm worried about... Only people that would be upset if they were asked for this information are those that might think they have something of questionable character on there... JMO of course...

Or, you could just delete the entire account...

[noelchabanel]

... But i do feel I have a duty to protect the information about other people that has been entrusted to me.

:confused:

How private can the information possibly be if it is posted on the internet? If you print a newsletter about your personal life, and send it out to people all over town, you can't really expect any privacy.

[Ver1tasA3quitas]

I think he was referring to the e-mail account in protecting his friends' privacy. Having a personal account on Myspace, Facebook, or any other social networking site is completly different than having an E-mail account. I have both, and I understand that the social network site is open to the public and I understand that, which is why I wouldn't mind allowing anyone access. As said before, that site has material that has been posted to the "public." As far as my personal E-mail account, however, there are some privacy issues that pertain, in my opinion. I have never posted my personal e-mails to the public.

[AmarulaCream]

There is absolutely no need to cancel your myspace and/or facebook accounts. Well, then again, I suppose that does depend on the department...

Common sense is the key here. I would remove any and all pics "glamorizing" alcohol and partying, and obviously drugs. Ideal candidates for police positions are not those who indulge in excessive self-expression. I.e., ghetto outfits, gang signs, leather pants/black lipstick... nope, not a great idea. having said that, I highly doubt halloween costumes matter much, unless of course they are grossly politically objectionable (source: NYSP background investigator).

Again, this is all going to depend on the department. Some forbid myspace all together. One post mentioned searching through email address from five years back... IMO, that is taking it a bit too far, as is the whole black-mail mentality with medical history disclosure.

Just remember there are 18,600+ LE agencies in the US... someone will hire you eventually lol!

[jimsmith]

sorry my question was with regard to access to email accounts and or myspace without consent . I don't have a myspace, but i do have email accounts with information about other people ,nothing bad, but they do have the right to privacy.

I can tell you my combination to my gated community, but without an invite your still trespassing, and other people in that community have the right to privacy and the protection that gate offers them ('gate' being metaphor for amendment).

:p

ps we are in the business of protecting rights ?

[Citicop]

1.) Asking for the last five years of email addresses is NOT the same as asking for the password to your email account.

2.) If it was part of the hiring process for them to get into your email, I promise that they would have you would sign a form granting consent.

3.) What do you do for a living? You say that 'we' are in the business of protecting people's rights....

Citicop.

[Pookie44]

Myspace is stupid and a waste of time.:rolleyes: Nothing like advertising your goods to the whole world.....lol I will never understand why people have these things espeacially women.

[AmarulaCream]

1.) Asking for the last five years of email addresses is NOT the same as asking for the password to your email account.

2.) If it was part of the hiring process for them to get into your email, I promise that they would have you would sign a form granting consent.

3.) What do you do for a living? You say that 'we' are in the business of protecting people's rights....

Citicop.

Citicop is right... from what i can figure, the reason for asking for your email addresses is so they can search for any website you may have used that email address to gain access too, such as blogs, etc. I don't think there is any department who can legally force you into allowing them to sort through your inbox and outbox.

As for myspace- when you get to the page in your background questionnaire that asks whether you CURRENTLY have a Myspace account or not and you have deleted yours, even recently, you can HONESTLY answer NO. Now if the question asks if you have EVER had a Myspace account?... well you are pretty much SOL and JWF.

[DeltaV]

sorry my question was with regard to access to email accounts and or myspace without consent

It's simple. They ask for your consent and you give it to them. If you don't give them consent, they don't give you the job. You also have the right to refuse to take a polygraph or a psychological exam that can be used in making a hiring decision. Again, if you refuse to take those tests you don't get the job.

It's true that you do have a right to privacy. That said, nothing says that you have a right to a job as a LEO. These things are examined during the hiring process as a way to look at your character as well as to make sure that you're aren't a member of the NAMBLA or KKK group on myspace.

As far as "being in the business of protecting rights," you need to understand exactly what that means. Protecting rights has to do with protecting the rights of the accused, which an applicant is not. An applicant MUST give statements to a background investigator, while a suspect does not have to give statements to an investigating officer. There are no criminal proceedings for you to get part of your background investigation thrown out due to a "rights violation," and law enforcement agencies have been given extreme leeway in the things they can ask for during a background investigation due to the requirements and authority that goes along with the job.

If you have such a problem providing what the agency asks for, there are lots of other jobs with less in-depth background investigations.

[mcsap]

There is absolutely no need to cancel your myspace and/or facebook accounts. Well, then again, I suppose that does depend on the department...

Common sense is the key here. I would remove any and all pics "glamorizing" alcohol and partying, and obviously drugs. Ideal candidates for police positions are not those who indulge in excessive self-expression. I.e., ghetto outfits, gang signs, leather pants/black lipstick... nope, not a great idea. having said that, I highly doubt halloween costumes matter much, unless of course they are grossly politically objectionable (source: NYSP background investigator).

If you have to remove that kind of garbage, we dont want you to beginn with.

Again, this is all going to depend on the department. Some forbid myspace all together. One post mentioned searching through email address from five years back... IMO, that is taking it a bit too far, as is the whole black-mail mentality with medical history disclosure.

Obviously you are not a background investigator who is ultimately repsponsible for saying YES to someone being hired and given GREAT authority to detain and arrest people. Not only do we want to weed out those who may take your " scrub your myspace page clean" advice but we also want to make sure people aren't hiding a physical/psychological impairment that may hamper their ability to be a good LE officer.

Just remember there are 18,600+ LE agencies in the US... someone will hire you eventually lol!

Thats right, if you keep applying and failing , some lesser agency with low standards , pay and benefits will probably stoop to hire a less than qualfiied candidate.

[CelticSmackdown]

A guy i know just got asked in the BI interview for his myspace password.
Other people have rumored that the BI investigators check old email accounts like hotmail etc.
I noticed on my SPH That Portland wanted the last 5 years of email addressers.

so my question is this :

can police background investigators access email/myspace without a warrant?

They can look all they like at my email i have nothing to hide. But i do feel I have a duty to protect the information about other people that has been entrusted to me.

:confused:

As someone who just completed and passed a background check, I can say that you better be prepared to have your life opened like a book. I didn't even know my background investigation had begun until I recieved an e-mail from my BI "asking" for access to my Myspace account. They gave me the "option" not to consent but, as it was stated in previous posts, not allowing them to view the account would have ended my application.

If you're someone who really values privacy, law enforcement is not the right career to consider.