The Facebook Beat
You can find the Los Angeles Police Department on Facebook here, but is the LAPD following you on your Facebook page?
It might be, if you’re using social media to engage in criminal activity.
We’re used to seeing police work in the online arena in connection with child pornography and credit card fraud investigations. But cops are also using social media to investigate other kinds of crimes, including gang crimes.
According to an April 2011 article, Police Officers Go Undercover, gang members have been arrested after uploading incriminating videos on You Tube. And according to a recent New York Daily News article, the New York City Police Department has formed an official “social media” unit to find out about “troublesome house parties, gang showdowns and other potential mayhem.”
The Daily News article also noted that participants involved in the current riots in London apparently have communicated about looting and burning opportunities via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
