German police use Facebook account as an aid in crime detection

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

The account was started by the police of Hanover, and not for entertainment, or communication with relatives / friends, but as an additional tool for solving crimes. In his account, the Hanover police ask for help from the residents of the city, and they really help. In any case, during these six months, about six crimes were solved solely thanks to the work of the police on Facebook. One case was reportedly related to the hijacking of a car, and another one was related to a kidnapping. The four remaining crimes are not called.
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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 35 years old.

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 in Vkontakte?

Via yahoo