police in public directories

[555]

Are there laws regarding listing law enforcement personnel in public directories? I am interested in locating a friend-last I heard he was in the Secret Service. Also, an ex-Marine if that helps.

[ 06-24-2002: Message edited by: 555 ]

[Don]

Originally posted by 555:
Are laws regarding listing law enforcement personnel in public directories?

HUH?

[555]

Would it be in violation of any law to list a police officer in a public directory such as whitepages? I have heard that this is the case.

[kateykakes]

555,

I'm not a PO, but I can't see why any one of them would list their phone number to the public when there is a good majority that are anti-police. I see it as a safety measure for their families as well as themselves. I'm sure there are many other reasons, but their privacy deserves to be taken into consideration. Just my .02.

[retired]

555,

Originally posted by 555:
Would it be in violation of any law to list a police officer in a public directory such as whitepages? I have heard that this is the case.

It is up to the subscriber of the telephone service to determine if they want to be listed. If they don't tell the telephone company to not list them, they are listed.

[FLLawdog]

The phone companies will normally allow anyone to have an unlisted number. Most LEO's that I know of choose this. There is also a difference, as I found out when I first got into LE. There's unpublished which keeps the name out of the book and unlisted which keeps anyone from getting it from directory assistance.

Additionally, we can have out tags listed as "confidential", meaning that LE agencies can get the info but Joe Citizen can't get it by giving the tag number to DMV.

Our DL information can also be confidential as can our property records.

[555]

Originally posted by retired:
555,



It is up to the subscriber of the telephone service to determine if they want to be listed. If they don't tell the telephone company to not list them, they are listed.

In other words there are no laws that prohibit law enforcement agents from being listed

[tcsd1236]

I concur with the rest about officers protecting themselves with unlisted numbers. If he was in the military, you might want to try one of the search engines for former military personnel such as that found at: http://www.military.com/Military/Loc...Splash/?loc=QL

[Pigskin]

No, there is no law against it. It is a matter of personal choice.

[Niteshift]

Wait..........

It is against the law in FL to list the officers name, number etc. against his will if it serves no legit purpose.

Say for example, you work in the video store and you get my number because it's on my membership. Then your buddy gets a ticket from me and you get mad about it. For you to make that info public is a crime.

[Joseph]

They let us list under another name down here. So it's private and it's not you. The telephone company is very cooperative down here. I know a Guy who's phone is under Fred Flintstone. He does have trouble and jokes when trying to order a pizza or something. They always asking him about Wilma and Barney.

[Sig220Man]

In other words there are no laws that prohibit law enforcement agents from being listed

No, that's not what retired is saying. What he is saying is that unless you notify your phone company (and sometimes pay a monthly fee), that your number will automatically be published.

There ARE laws in some states that prohibit the publishing of an officer's address and phone number, with the intent of notifying EVERYBODY that a cop lives there or that's a cop's phone number. As long as the phone company doesn't identify the person as a cop, they haven't broken any laws.