The ubiquitous and ever-popular social media has gained one more fan – the New York Police Department. On Wednesday, NYPD declared that it would be setting up a Social Media Unit to track boastful criminals who rave about their activities on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, reported NY Daily News. The Unit will, in the words of NYPD, “mine social media, looking for information about troublesome house parties, gang showdowns and other potential mayhem.”
Kevin O’Connor who was recently elevated to the post of Assistant commissioner, will be the head of the new juvenile justice unit. In the past, 23-year old O’Connor has used the social media to successfully nab criminals, including stings to snare predator perverts looking to hook up with minor victims.
He has also been credited in his former assignment with a Manhattan North gang unit, where he was a lieutenant, with providing critical information in a number of shooting cases sourced from online bragging.
Recent instances of arrests based on information gathered online includes:
- In March, a 18 year old man was fatally beaten in an anti-gay attack at a Queens, house party advertised on Facebook. Authorities said that one of the six arrested, bragged about the murder on Facebook.
- In the same month, a feud over a loan played out on Facebook ended with a 18 year old woman allegedly stabbing her 22 year old friend in Brooklyn.
- In May, a man was shot to death at Queens Junior High reunion that attracted hundreds of unexpected revelers when word of the gathering went viral on Twitter.
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| Calvin Pietri (l.) and Kayla Henriques (r.) were caught by NYPD detectives as a result of their Facebook posts. Image Credit: New York Daily News |
These incidents prompted Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly of NYPD to keep track of house parties, especially those advertised online.
The social media unit will operate under the Community Affairs Bureau which will also handle outreach programs, going beyond the Internet.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in London, Scotland Yard has vowed to track down and arrest protesters who posted ‘really inflammatory and inaccurate’ messages on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The social media platforms are being blamed in part for helping rioters in the UK organize. PCMag reports,“Local law enforcement has launched a Flickr stream and a dedicated Web site with pictures of people allegedly involved in looting in the city.”
On the other hand, social networks have also been used to help organize clean ups after the riots. In Liverpool, 21 year old bartender Charles Jupiter set up a “Liverpool Clean Up” Facebook page which brought about 100 volunteers on to the streets to clean up piles of broken glass and debris. Jupiter told CBS News, “People were posting, “I am embarrassed to be English, I am embarrassed to be from London or Liverpool. I reposted and said, “I am not. That is why I am going out there to clean up.”
The volunteers followed the same path taken by the rioters on Monday night who smashed bus stops and set fire to cars. A supermarket even supplied the groups with brushes, shovels, and binbags after hearing about their effort.
Other law enforcement agencies have used Facebook and Twitter to keep people informed of criminal activity. Such programs include digital “wanted” posters, police blotter blogs and the use of online tipsters. The Boston Police Department has used Twitter to monitor chatter around the city since 2009, and the FBI employed Facebook, YouTube and Twitter outreach to apprehend longtime fugitive James ‘Whitey’ Bulgur in June.