With the extreme lack of privacy that Facebook produces, alongside ease of accessing personal information in this day and age, it is not surprising that 'cybercrime' has surfaced since the launch of such social networking sites.
But more recently it is the police that have captured the social networking spotlight in the media. Two particular issues have come to light recently- police using Facebook to target crime, and police irresponsibly using Facebook.
Lesson #1
If you graffiti something, do not post photos of it and brag on Facebook.
When a certain tag began appearing all over Winnipeg, police received a tip off directing them to Facebook where they found photos of the same design on an 18 year olds page.
Lesson #2
If you're caught on surveillance, just because you don't have a mugshot alr
eady, doesn't mean there isn't a photo of you out there.Recently the police of Queenstown NZ caught their first Facebook criminal after posting a photo from a surveillance camera, when someone recognised the criminal from Facebook.
Lesson #3
When you commit a hurtful hate-crime on your college campus, don't assume that your victim doesn't have Facebook.
After a gay-hate crime occurred at Georgetown University, the victim went straight to the police and Facebook; it didn't take him long to find his attacker on the University Facebook page, where the small population of students all use the site.
In February of this year, an article was posted about police in the United States beginning to use Facebook to fight crime. For example, pages have been set up for missing persons cases, rendering useful information and tips leading to arrests. Photos are posted from surveillance footage asking for help identifying criminals. Posts are made about deceased police officers, as well as damaged power lines and reminding people to sign up for an emergency text message service (Calderon, 2010).
As well as evidence that Facebook has become a useful tool for police, there is also evidence showing Facebook and other social networking sites causing problems for police officers.
As a generation of officers that are accustom to using social networking sites enter the ranks, they are less inclined to see the problems with using these sites in their line of work. Problems that have recently arisen involving misuse of electronic media include releasing privileged information on officers blogs and twitter, viewing of internet pornography sites on department computers, and posting of distasteful photographs.
In April of last year the US news reported on several officers who had joined a Facebook group called 'The Make It Rain Foundation For Underprivaleged Hoes'. Alongside this, these officers had posted comments about trips to strip clubs and excessive drinking. Photos posted on the officers' Facebook pages showed them in uniform. These officers are still under internal review.
So will this new age of mass technological social networking become a new form of justice, or just more of a menace? Only time will tell.
