Police using myspace now to catch criminals

[Guest]

This is an article from my local Philadelphia news:

Police use MySpace.com to find 27 vandalism suspects
By Walter F. Naedele
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Bensalem police said this morning that they intend to arrest and charge three adults and 24 juveniles with 1,500 acts of graffiti that caused more than $100,000 in damage throughout the township over the last year.

Police Chief Fred Harran declined at a news conference to identify any of the suspects.

Harran said Detective Joseph Scisio had discovered the 27 suspects, all Bensalem residents, by using a false identity to converse with them at the Web site MySpace.com.

That site is "dangerous, dangerous," Harran said. But the entries there led to today's announcement, he said, because graffiti writing "is the only crime where you sign your name before you walk away from the crime."

After vandals spray-painted several sites at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Bensalem on Flag Day, June 14, Harran said, a tip led to the writer who revealed the Internet connection. A four-month investigation followed.[/b]

About 2 weeks earlier, police from the same township had used craigslist.com to arrest 15 prostitutes and 4 people selling dope and meth online through personal ads.

At least police are getting with the times. I mean; it's clear to anyone with half a brain that some morons think the internet is a safe and anonymous place where anything goes. You wouldn't brag about defacing a war memorial in "real life", but posting a confession on the internet for all to see makes perfect sense? :wacko:

 

[Pawe]

I have heard about this, and untill people stop admitting to what they do on Myspace this will help out a bit, and probably be a good thing.

 

[Fluffy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pawe @ Sep 21 2006, 10:18 PM) [snapback]119372[/snapback][/center]

I have heard about this, and untill people stop admitting to what they do on Myspace this will help out a bit, and probably be a good thing.
[/b]

The FBI has been using it to catch pedophiles for a couple of years now.

 

[Guest]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fluffy @ Sep 21 2006, 10:36 PM) [snapback]119376[/snapback][/center]

The FBI has been using it to catch pedophiles for a couple of years now.
[/b]

True; but I'm surprised it hasn't been used more often by local police forces. Some young idiots go around wrecking mailboxes or keying cars or something; then most likely they're gonna go right on Myspace and brag about it to their buddies.

And one needn't look far for criminal activity on those sites with online personal ads. Just a simple search will bring up tons of ads for people asking for or offering "420" or other drugs. It wouldn't take much effort to set up fake "meetings" with all these people with an undercover officer.

 

[SynTaXx-Wrath]

I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die

 

[Timi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fluffy @ Sep 21 2006, 10:36 PM) [snapback]119376[/snapback][/center]

The FBI has been using it to catch pedophiles for a couple of years now. [/b]

Yep, nothing new here...move along...move along.

Seriously though, MySpace is just added on to various outlets that law enforcement uses, such as back in the day of AOL chat rooms, AIM, Yahoo, various user boards, Blogs and so on.

I find it halarious people post their lives on the internet for everyone to read. I remember back in the day people would throw a fit if their phone number was listed in the phone book, but damn if personal information on the web isn't just the bees knees!