London force has sacked three serving officers and four civilian staff since 2009 over conduct on sites such as Twitter
The Metropolitan police has investigated 75 officers for potentially misusing Facebook and other social networks in the past five years, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Three officers and four police officials have been dismissed following disciplinary investigations since 2009. A further six officers and two staff resigned or retired after facing complaints about their misuse of social media.
The figures emerged days after Britain's first youth crime commissioner, Paris Brown, resigned from her £15,000-a-year post following a row over her past comments on Twitter.
Of the 75 officers investigated by the Metropolitan police, 38 had complaints proven against them and 25 were cleared. A further six are still being investigated.
Of those 38 officers, three were sacked, 18 were given a written warning, six received some form of management action, six retired or resigned and a further five received "management advice".
Out of 12 police civilian staff investigated, four were sacked, two resigned, four received written warnings and two were formally reprimanded over their use of social media. The FoI shows that a Scotland Yard civilian worker was sacked earlier this year over "inappropriate comments" on Facebook.
The Metropolitan police said in the FoI: "The MPS [Metropolitan police] expects its staff to behave professionally, ethically and with the utmost of integrity at all times. Any instance where the conduct of our staff brings the MPS into disrepute is treated extremely seriously in line with MPS policy."
Steven George-Hilley, director of technology at think tank Parliament Street, which submitted the FoI request to Scotland Yard, said that Twitter and Facebook could play a vital role in tackling crime.
But George-Hilley added that misuse of social media might "jeopardise the integrity of the police".
"It's vital that the Met ensures all employees are trained to use social media responsibly," he said.
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The Metropolitan police has investigated 75 officers for potentially misusing Facebook and other social networks in the past five years, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Three officers and four police officials have been dismissed following disciplinary investigations since 2009. A further six officers and two staff resigned or retired after facing complaints about their misuse of social media.
The figures emerged days after Britain's first youth crime commissioner, Paris Brown, resigned from her £15,000-a-year post following a row over her past comments on Twitter.
Of the 75 officers investigated by the Metropolitan police, 38 had complaints proven against them and 25 were cleared. A further six are still being investigated.
Of those 38 officers, three were sacked, 18 were given a written warning, six received some form of management action, six retired or resigned and a further five received "management advice".
Out of 12 police civilian staff investigated, four were sacked, two resigned, four received written warnings and two were formally reprimanded over their use of social media. The FoI shows that a Scotland Yard civilian worker was sacked earlier this year over "inappropriate comments" on Facebook.
The Metropolitan police said in the FoI: "The MPS [Metropolitan police] expects its staff to behave professionally, ethically and with the utmost of integrity at all times. Any instance where the conduct of our staff brings the MPS into disrepute is treated extremely seriously in line with MPS policy."
Steven George-Hilley, director of technology at think tank Parliament Street, which submitted the FoI request to Scotland Yard, said that Twitter and Facebook could play a vital role in tackling crime.
But George-Hilley added that misuse of social media might "jeopardise the integrity of the police".
"It's vital that the Met ensures all employees are trained to use social media responsibly," he said.
• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".
• To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. Reported by guardian.co.uk 17 hours ago.