Facebook to crack crime?

On nytimes.com today, an article reports that The Greater Manchester Police force (GMP) has created a Facebook application to help them get leads on investigations, making them the first UK law enforcement to use social networking sites.

This is how it works: the application delivers real-time mini feeds of police news, local news and appeals for information. If a user wants to submit any information, there is a “Submit Intelligence” link that he or she clicks on, which will take him or her directly to the police website. All leads can be submitted anonymously.

To encourage leads, a content feature is placed next to that feed that allows users to post comments or share a particular story with other friends in their network. There are also links that lead to videos on GMP, YouTube and others featuring ongoing investigations, police force information, and other advisories. For example, one video showed a “closed-circuit TV footage of two men in hooded sweatshirts seen near the place where a 15-year-old, Jessie James, was shot and killed in Manchester in November 2006.”

According to GMP, this application has been well received (750 people have placed it on their profile). They estimate that 7 million of the 59 million Facebook users are based in the UK (I’m not sure how true this is) and so they see this as a great potential to raise awareness and for users to aid police work. One user said, “This is a sure-fire way to branch out to the younger generation and also to encourage anonymous information.”

This is an example of the capability of social networking sites and how online communities can be mobilized. But nowhere in the article does it mention the potential for false leads from users and if or how GMP plans to handle them. I’m also curious to know how anonymous the user identity can be should the GMP need a real-life witness for prosecution. Another thing to think about is that the success of this may lead the way for other law enforcements around the world to do the same. Also, what if law enforcements start checking social networking sites for criminal activities similar to recruiters doing backgrounds checks? It may seem far-fetched now, but with online videos of teenage beatings and the like, could (should) police officers use them as a source?