http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/14/nz.facebook.arrest/index.html
First, a summary of this article so everyone is on the same though process as I am. Recently, in New Zealand, police used facebook (for those of you who don't know, it is a popular networking site;) to solve a crime. A man broke into a safe at a local pub. Removing his mask because of extreme temperature, the thief unknowingly exposed his face to the camera. Police, desperate to find the perpetrator, placed a "wanted" add on facebook along with the picture of the suspect. Almost immediately there was a wave of responses from people with tips, clues, and a positive identification of the intruder. By the very next day, the suspect was in custody. Is the use of a social networking site a positive way to help prevent crime?
My first thought when I read this article was, police should not have the right to post things online of that nature. After thinking about it further, it began to make sense why they did it. At one point in time, the television was a new technology. As far back as I remember, there have been shows like: "COPS," "America's Most Wanted," and "Cold Case Files." I suppose that the internet is just following in the path of TV. This now brings up an important question that we all are wondering, "is the use of facebook to solve crime actually and invasion of privacy or just in fact 'too much?'" Obviously I am going to be completely bias because I use facebook almost hourly, and I do not want the police anywhere my page. But, then again, I am completely for the prevention of crime due to fear of being caught. So, I leave this up to you, reader, what do you think?
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You make an interesting comparison to television. I'm sure there was a lot more controversy and discussion when crime prevention shows started showing up on television. I think privacy is a big concern here. Our country also operates under the principle of innocent under proven guilty, which could be undermined if things are posted before all the details are known. It will be interesting to see how these social networking sites evolve and change as time goes on.
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