We would like to offer you current and general information as well as insights into our day-to-day work on the social media pages of the NRW police. The world is colorful and diverse - which is why we very much welcome the fact that social networks provide a platform for exchange and discussion. We look forward to engaging with you on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. On our pages, you can find the latest news about police operations and important information about crime and traffic.

Our social media teams are active for you on social media from Monday to Friday during the day. During this time, the social media team reads comments and messages and looks forward to interacting with you. Outside of these times, our social media channels are managed by the control center.

Important information

Always call 110 in urgent cases.

We ask you not to publish any information about criminal offenses or personal data on social networks. If you would like to give a tip-off or report a crime, please use our Internet Watch or go to the nearest police station. In appeals for witnesses or wanted notices, you will also always find the relevant police station with telephone contact details.

Netiquette

We ask everyone to remember that real people are communicating with each other here. To ensure a constructive exchange on our social media channels, the community agrees on the following common values and rules of conduct:

• We respect our fellow human beings. We comment responsibly. We are constructive and polite.
• We only comment on the current post topic.
• Questions and ideas are welcome.
• Differences of opinion are part of life. We argue on a factual level and don't get personal. We criticize opinions and actions, not people.
• Before commenting/tweeting, we put ourselves in the other person's shoes. We check whether we would also say the sentence to a person's face in a conversation.
• If we are provoked or treated unfairly, the people to contact are those mentioned above.
• We stick to verifiable facts and are careful with assumptions, especially accusations.
• We stand up for the Basic Law and an open, democratic society.
• We express ourselves clearly and comprehensibly. Irony and sarcasm can easily be misunderstood if you cannot see/hear the other person.
• We accept that "Du" has become the common form of address in the German-speaking network and do not get annoyed if we are not addressed as "Du".

The internet is not a legal vacuum!

We do not tolerate

• insults, abusive language and degrading statements,
• inciting, racist, obscene, discriminatory or pornographic content,
• content that is linked to viruses, Trojans or harmful websites or is otherwise likely to impair the use of the site or the user's IT system,
• Spam / copy&paste of your own comments,
• contributions with personal data, commercial contributions and third-party advertising,
• Links are generally not permitted and will be hidden or deleted by us. This is to prevent users from being redirected to fraudulent sites, e.g. by subsequently changing the websites they have entered.

As the police, we stand for law and order. You can and may expect the same from us on the Internet! In the case of comments that violate the law, we initiate appropriate proceedings, hide the comments and block the user. If you notice any possible legal violations on our pages, please inform us.

Users whose comments have been hidden or deleted or whose account has been blocked can informally enquire about the reason for the measure. To do so, please send an email to the social media team. In addition, the terms of use of the respective social network and our privacy policy apply.

We hope you enjoy the exchange of opinions!