Acceptable Use Policy for the Fire Department Designing, Developing, Implementing Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) Computers integral part fabric daily life fire service. Once a luxury, computer a necessity a multitude functions: computer aided dispatch, fire incident reporting, creating work schedules, outlining

Purpose of the Acceptable Use Policy

The fire department owns and operates the computing systems that are provided for use by the employees, fire men and women. The computing systems support the workers in managing and operating technology related services. These systems are to be used for the purposes of emergency response, communications, reporting, and public services only. This Acceptable Use Policy has been formulated to ensure that the computing systems, network, and facilities are used appropriately, efficiently, ethically, effectively, and in a lawful manner by all employees and community members. The AUP establishes prohibitions and rules that will define the acceptable use of the computing systems and the network Rusk, 2001.

Any unacceptable use is prohibited, and it will be a ground for denial to any employee to use the computing systems. The fire department reserves the right to modify the AUP at any time, and in the event of any changes, all employees will be notified by email where a copy of the revised AUP will be provided. Any attempted violation of this AUP by a third party who is acting on behalf of an authorized person, will be considered to be a violation by the employee, and they shall be directly liable for this violation.

Audience addressed by this AUP

This AUP applies to all employees, fire department community, consultants, contractors, temporary employees, interns, trainees, and any other worker within the fire department. All personnel that are affiliated with the third parties are also addressed by this AUP. The AUP applies to all computer equipment, networks, or peripherals that are owned by the fire department or have been leased by the fire department. The policy also applies to any individual who has access or may require to access the computing systems...

The users of the computing systems should however, know that emails can be intercepted outside the fire department's network, and this would not be a fault of the fire department. The fire department respects the contents of individual files and will monitors the fire department's network in accordance with the law. Some file content can become known when the IT administrators are dealing with certain operational problems. The fire department keeps a usage log, which is used when diagnosing such problems. The fire department is liable to comply with the law when court orders are presented requesting copies of emails, system files, or any other information.
The IT administrators do not monitor electronic communication, but they might become aware of some activity that is posing risks to the fire department's network. In such a scenario, they will take corrective measures, which might include disabling or blocking access to the systems posing this risk. In the process of diagnosing problems, the IT administrators may obtain information that indicates unauthorized distribution of confidential materials. This would be considered illegal, and the affected users or employees would be liable for this violation. The fire department places great value to the freedom of expression. All employees have the right to exercise their freedom of expression, but this should be done in a mature, respectful, and responsible manner Miller, 2004.

The fire department will not punish any employee or user provided the expression does not violate the law.

Responsibilities of the municipal leadership

The municipal leadership is responsible for ensuring that the computing systems and networks are protected…