The Speaker

Lisa R. Holmes, is a retired Superintendent with the Boston Police Department. Prior to her retirement, she was the highest ranking female in the Boston Police Department. Her former assignment was the Chief of the Bureau of Professional Development, which includes the Boston Police Academy, the Police Cadet Unit & the Firearms Training Unit. This Bureau is responsible for all the training & educational requirements of the Boston Police Department, as well as other local police agencies that train there. She was previously the Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Professional Standards, which includes the Internal Investigations Unit, Anti-Corruption Unit, Recruit Investigation Unit and the Audit & Review Unit. Superintendent Holmes has 33 years of experience as an officer, an investigator, and a supervisor within the Boston Police Department. She is dedicated to partnering with the community through creative problem solving, strong leadership, and ensuring the highest quality police services.
Superintendent Holmes began her career as a Police Cadet in 1983 and became a Patrol Officer in 1985 where she was assigned to the Area B Police District. After having proven herself, she was assigned to the prestigious Anti-Gang Violence Unit, now known as the Youth Violence Strike Force, helping to stem the flow of violence among the youth of the community. In 1994, she was promoted to Detective and assigned to the Sexual Assault Unit. While in this unit, she and a co-worker developed a curriculum that teaches youth the consequences of their behaviors surrounding the issues of sexual assault and harassment and the influences media images on our perceptions of one another. This curriculum is still taught today in many public and private middle and high schools as well as community based organizations in the Boston area. In 2012, she was appointed to the rank of Deputy Superintendent, where she took over Command of the Internal Investigation & Recruit Investigation Units. A recipient of many awards for both her community work and her bravery in action, perhaps most treasured distinction was the opportunity to introduce then President William Jefferson Clinton at a major public safety event at the Orchard Gardens Housing Development, where she had grown up.

The Workshop

Social Media and Law Enforcement: Legal Challenges and Pitfalls : Thursday, September 30, 2021 10:30A

A 2018 Pew Research survey concluded that 91 percent of U.S. adults use a smartphone and 97 percent use the internet. Social media has become an accepted part of our everyday lives.

The recent revelation of a secret Facebook group that included current and former Customs and Border Protection personnel who made offensive posts about migrant deaths and lawmakers once again raises the specter of law enforcement officers on social media. With more than 1 million law enforcement officers taking to the streets every day to protect America, these incidents still appear to be rare, as many officers are aware of the pitfalls of social media. But law enforcement is grappling with is a generational shift -- with newer officers preferring to use social media and cyber platforms for communication, rather than a phone or the pen.

With that, the law enforcement community finds itself stuck in a rather untenable position of trying to balance an officer's right to free speech versus a department’s right to regulate conduct. The question must be asked “How does social media affect officers and their jobs?”

In today’s time of social media proliferation, it is not only the duty of the individual but the employer to have a system in place to handle any misuse. Police departments need to have solid social media rules in place that every employee is familiar with. Sound disciplinary measures should also be a part of that policy. Unfortunately, many departments will be faced with an incident that will call negative attention to them and their officers. And many times, the poor choice of one individual can tarnish the entire group. Hazing and discrimination matters have been posted on different social accounts, bringing entire departments under scrutiny. And many times, the swiftness and efficiency that those situations were dealt with helped the department recover quickly.