Facebook's wish to hire a police officer exclusively for its headquarters was granted after the Menlo Park City Council in California agreed to it. The police department will do the hiring while Facebook will pay the salary of the hired officer. The job description consists of guarding the Belle Haven neighborhood and providing assistance to the community where the Facebook headquarters is located. There is nothing wrong with assigning a police officer to the area, but the fact that a private company will be paying the officer's salary has created some reactions. 

San Jose Mercury News reported on some of the reactions to Facebook's paying for the salary of a police officer. One of those came from Alessandro De Giorgi, a justice studies professor at San Jose State University. He told KNBC-TV that this action is puzzling and can trigger conflicts of interest in the future.

However, in an interview with the Mercury News, Cmdr. Dave Bertini declared that Facebook's hiring of a police officer is more for security measures and patrol of Belle Haven. The assigned officer will not issue any traffic citations and will not receive any calls. Assigning an officer in an area for security purposes would, in fact, be of great help to any big company like Facebook. The officer can help the company to conduct exercises for a bomb threat or for an active shooter incident. The officer will not only provide support to Facebook but also to the schools in the neighborhood.

Mayor Ray Mueller of Menlo Park informed KPIX-TV that the concerns of Professor De Giorgi will not happen. He added that conflicts of interests only happen when someone undertakes efforts to influence the police force of a city.

Although funding the salary of a privately assigned public law enforcer is new, Police Foundation president Jim Bueermann informed KNBC that it can be adopted in the future. He complemented Facebook founder Zuckerberg for his humanitarianism.

Facebook is setting the amount at $200,000 per year to cover the salary and benefits of the police officer. Bertini explained that both parties do not expect anything in return beyond this agreement.