POLICE have confirmed a Townsville officer, who was caught giving the finger to a pair of teenagers in the background of a selfie photo, will face "managerial guidance" after the image went viral.

A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said the photo was taken in the early hours of April 27 in the Townsville entertainment precinct.

"His behaviour is considered inappropriate and will be addressed by way of managerial guidance," she said.

"Queensland Police Service consists of well-trained dedicated and hardworking police officers.

"The service has high standards for its officers and therefore has appropriate processes in place to address any behaviour that does not meet these expectations."

Dubbed the "photo-bombing cop", the unidentified policeman is shown making the obscene gesture in the background of a "selfie" photo being taken by two young pranksters.

Titled "Only in Australia!" the photograph has racked up more than 668,000 views in two days after being shared on web discussion forum Reddit.

Originally published as Finger-flippin' cop given 'guidance'