Local police using Facebook more in investigations
This is an interesting story that looks at some of the good of Facebook. Police in Iowa City are turning to Facebook to help in investigations.
In one investigation, a 20-year-old woman went missing after a night of bar hopping. When all else failed, they tried contacting her through her Facebook page; within minutes there was a response from the woman. If that doesn’t tell you how important these profile pages are to their owners, I don’t know what does. All other communication failed, but she was checking her Facebook page. Sheesh.
The article also notes that information found on Facebook can be used in both criminal and civil cases, by plaintiff, prosecution, and defense attorneys. Anything on a Facebook page can be used to contest a witness’s credibility and character for truth telling. It can even be useful in disputes of fact, such as determining whether the witness attended a certain event.
I think the bigger issue here is one that has been pointed out before: your social networking profile page is NOT PRIVATE. It’s YOUR own personal newspaper and broadcast outlet to the world – and the world has access to it. For the love of Pete, understand this, people!!!
Parents, FYI, computer monitoring software can help you see what your kids are doing on social networks…
Local police using Facebook more in investigations
Regina Zilbermints – The Daily IowanWhen Alyssa Strittmater went missing last week, Iowa City police tried every traditional option available to them. However, something less traditional – a Facebook message – closed the case, authorities said.
In searching for the woman – who reportedly disappeared while bar-hopping with friends downtown – police used the popular social-networking site to locate the 20-year-old after traditional investigating, including calling and checking addresses, didn’t work, said Iowa City police Lt. Jim Steffen, who is in charge of investigations.
Eventually, investigators sent a message to Strittmater’s Facebook account, received a response, and discovered the woman was unharmed, Steffen said.
“It really helped us out,” he said. “As soon as we posted that message on her Facebook, we got a response.”
Police using tools such as Facebook isn’t unusual, particularly in the last couple years, authorities said. While use of social-networking sites is done on a case-by-case basis, “we’re aware of those sites and if it’s beneficial, we will utilize them,” Steffen said.
“As technology develops, it both brings problems and helps us in our jobs,” he said. “We try to stay abreast of new things on the Internet that can help us in the performance of our duties.”
After the police conclude an investigation, Facebook has proven to be a useful tool for attorneys as well.
“You’d be surprised what people put on their Facebook pages,” said Dan Vondra, a local attorney who has used Facebook when preparing for trial.
Information found on Facebook can be used in both criminal and civil cases, by plaintiff, prosecution, and defense attorneys, he said.
In one instance, at issue during a harassment case was whether the communication was unwanted. The alleged victim’s Facebook page could lead one to believe the communication was welcome – not unwanted – and this information was valuable at trial, Vondra said.
Anything on a Facebook page can be used to contest a witness’s credibility and character for truth telling, he pointed out. It can even be useful in disputes of fact, such as determining whether the witness attended a certain event.
“As an attorney, you want to know about a witness,” he said. “It’s really an open book.” There’s a lot of things you could mine from a Facebook page.”
Vondra cautions that using sources similar to Facebook has its limitations.
While a person will usually admit to what is on her or his Facebook page – making the evidence admissible in trial – if he or she denies it, it is difficult to prove that he or she was actually the person making the postings.
Still, “in general, it’s useful,” Vondra said. “If it’s a person who’s a witness that will admit to things on their page, you’re getting information you may not otherwise have.”