German police use Facebook account as an aid in solving crimes



    Social networks have long become a reliable tool in the hands of marketers, sociologists, politicians and other figures. Now these resources are actively mastered by law enforcement agencies of different countries. So, in the UK, thanks to Facebook, dozens of marauders were robbed, robbing stores during the London riots. German police began working on a social network even earlier than their colleagues, and started a Facebook account (six months earlier) as an experiment.

    The account was opened by the Hanover police, and not for entertainment, or to communicate with relatives / friends, but as an additional tool for solving crimes. In their account, the Hanoverian police asks for help from residents of the city, and they really help. In any case, during these six months, about six crimes were solved solely due to the work of the police on Facebook. One case was reportedly related to car theft, and another to kidnapping. The four remaining crimes are not called.

    The Facebook account was named “Polizei Hannover”, and this account already has 23 thousand “friends”. Police officers conducting this experiment claim that thanks to Facebook, law enforcement agencies can “reach out” to completely different categories of the population than in the case of appeals on TV, radio and in newspapers. About 70% of police “friends” on Facebook are under the age of 35.

    Police believe that the experiment was a success, and now, probably, this experience will be expanded to other cities in Germany. I wonder if domestic law enforcement officers will work in a similar way on Vkontakte.

    Via Yahoo

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