Previously in ferbaruary,a central Maine police department credited the social networking Web site Facebook for helping solve a vandalism case.Auburn police said that three teenagers broke into the spa at a Hilton Garden Inn. Police posted images from the hotel's surveillance video on the department's Facebook page, which they had set up Jan. 29.Detectives then received several anonymous tips from Facebook users who recognized the boys. This is not an isolated incident,where Facebook had given a helping hand in solving crime.Most recently,When Mary Chapman learned that two of her husband's work trucks had been burgled, her first reaction wasn't to call the police. It was to sign on to Facebook.She cracked open her laptop, logged on to the popular social networking site and sent off a quick message to a friend down the street.
A few minutes later, her friend forwarded that message to another friend in the neighborhood who, surprisingly, had noticed something strange in the middle of the day.The women put two and two together and, within a matter of hours, they'd singled out the suspect, confronted him and amicably settled the entire affair. The police had yet to come up with a name.
"I really don't think at this point they would have figured out who committed this crime," Chapman said. "If it was not for Facebook we would not have our items or our vehicles repaired."
The suspect was an 18-year-old from the neighborhood who, she said, impulsively looted her husband's trucks after a disagreement with his mother. The Chapmans ultimately downgraded the charge after the teen apologized and agreed to make amends.
Chapman said the police were a great help, but she still credits Facebook for recovering about $1,000 worth of equipment (a radar detector, GPS device and XM radio) and other damages.
Recognizing Facebook's potential to quickly sift through and reach out to others, crime victims and good Samaritans from all over the world have started to use the site to play digital detective, often with great success.
The man's behavior seemed a little bizarre to her all night, so when Mote got ready to leave and realized her laptop bag was missing, it didn't take her long to identify a main suspect.She asked the bartender for the man's name (he'd paid with a credit card) and then headed for Facebook.
Explaining that she'd been robbed, she put out a "Facebook APB," asking for information on the mystery man who she thought stole her laptop.
She filed a report with the police as well. But to make a long story short, Mote's Facebook sleuthing (bolstered by some digging by her friends) led her to the front door of the drunken thief and, eventually, her computer.
Laptop in hand, Mote called off the police and, according to MediaBistro, updated her profile with: "the perp and i are now friends on facebook."
Facebook Joins Law Enforcement
For victims of crime, Facebook provides a way to supplement a police department's investigation. But that's not to say that police officers themselves aren't also using the tool. In Auburn, Maine, police set up a Facebook page in January, after a group of vandals broke into a local hotel and caused about a thousand dollars worth of damage.
On camera, the mischief-makers were caught ripping tiles off the walls of the hotel spa and throwing them in the water and down the hall.Soon after the police launched the Facebook page featuring photos of the criminals, they started receiving anonymous tips."Within 48 hours, we had them ID'd and charged with criminal mischief," said Deputy Chief Jason Moen, adding that the vandals were three boys, ages 15 and 16.
In their town of about 23,000 people, he said the Facebook page is "more than catching criminals. It's another way to communicate with our folks."
From Catching a rapist,to finding lost stuff online,Facebook is helping those people in need of immediate help.
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