Social media in the fight against crime

Sometimes you just gatta love social media. I think many people do have a love/hate relationship with it but when you see stories like these, you'll start loving it again.

I had to laugh at Roger Ireland’s very amusing story. Roger decided that he'd respond to a police Facebook page that posted him as a wanted man. His response: “Y’all will never catch me”. Well the postings captured the attention of concerned residents and they began tagging Ireland's family members to the Facebook posts. Of course he was caught soon thereafter and was clearly annoyed that residents had responded to the police's posts and tagged his family which led the police straight to him. Those darned posting and tagging Facebook residents, you gatta love 'em. Maybe Ireland thought that only police officers are on Facebook - very 'smart' isn't it? As the police captain aptly put it to Yahoo News, “he should have kept his mouth shut.”

Then there's Danielle Saxton who posted Facebook photos of herself in a very unique but stolen dress. Did I mention 'not smart'? The things folks do to get attention on social media! There are countless examples of people posting inappropriate or ill-advised statements, photos or videos online. With these unwise actions, often rooted in people's desire for attention, there's no wonder why the police can use social media as an effective tool in the fight against crime. Here are some recent examples where it was useful in helping the police identify and capture suspects:

•   Facebook Selfie Helps Police Identify Fraud Suspect

•   Social Media Helps Police Identify Theft Suspect

•   Social Media Helps Nab Suspected Carjacker

•   Social Media Helps Police Track Down Assault Suspect

•   Police use social media to help catch suspects

•   Social media helps Ormond Beach police catch bank fraud suspect

•   Social media monitoring helps police nab drug dealer

I must admit though, the use of social media to fight crime makes me wonder just how far the police are prepared to go. "The Crazy, Cool and Unsettling Ways Police Are Using Social Media" is an interesting report that begins to address some of these potentially complex concerns.