How To Catch a Teenage Crook: Use Facebook
If you thought the only risk your kids had in going on Facebook was from child predators, guess again. It turns out when they royally screw up in the real world, Facebook can get society the help it needs.
Police officers in Maine took surveillance photos of some teenage hoodlums and posted them on Facebook – so users could identify the crooks and send them to jail.
The pictures went up on Facebook on Jan. 29, and already the three fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds responsible for breaking into a spa and wreaking havoc were identified – ostensibly by other teens – and arrested.
Considering law enforcement and social networking sites have had to develop relationships thanks to dumb kids posting photos of their misdeeds online, it’s high time there was a little quid pro quo. It’s also a good reminder for kids who think they’re safe from their crimes that the more widespread big brother’s reaches, the more likely their pranks will land them in jail. Good ammunition for parents who are at the end of their rope and looking to cash in on the scared straight program.
If nothing else, the parents of the kids who IDed the perps can feel a little better about how much time their kids are wasting online. At least they performed a public service.
Image: Mediabistro
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