Authorized persons are expected to use electronic equipment and network systems with a high degree of professional and personal courtesy. Authorized persons must ensure that the tone and content of electronic communications are business-like and exclude inflammatory remarks or inappropriate language. If it is an issue that could cause embarrassment, it does not belong on e-mail.
Although users of any Department electronics communication system or network have no rights of privacy and are subject to search at any time by authorized Department personnel, persons authorized to use Department electronics shall not forward or otherwise disclose the contents of electronic messages with the intent to embarrass or otherwise harm the sender. This does not prohibit the receiver of e-mail from divulging the contents of electronic communications to an authorized persons’ supervisor or to Department management.
Authorized persons who receive an electronic communication intended for another person shall attempt to notify the sender as soon as possible of the error.
Authorized persons who are authorized users of e-mail are responsible for reading their electronic mail in a timely manner, no less than once a day, or notifying their supervisor they are unable to read e-mail. To enhance security and ensure shared computers are available to all authorized persons, users shall logoff their computer when away from their workstation and at the end of the work shift.
All computers connected to the Sheriff’s Data Network must remain “on,” at all times, in order to permit after-hours maintenance, updates, and security upgrades. Authorized persons who have workstations which are used one or two shifts per day should logoff at the end of the day and leave the machines running.
Users of portable devices that connect to the Sheriff’s Data Network should refer to the standards found on the Intranet under Policy/Standards/Guides on the Data Systems Bureau’s Intranet web page.