Winter 2016-17
Social Media: A Poweerful Investigative Tool! REALLY?
As recently as the early 2000’s, law enforcement agencies, including those enforcing conservation law, would have laughed at anyone who even hinted that social media, Facebook in particular, would, in the near future, be an effective and efficient investigative tool capable of producing solid evidence against those who wish to violate the law.
Who’s laughing now? I’ll tell you. It is the officers around the world who have successfully brought criminals to justice after gathering mountains of evidence from Facebook and other social media sites. Such avenues include Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and others.
Ironically, and laughable, is the fact the criminals are literally sharing with investigating officers photos, videos, audio files and admissions of guilt in their own words. In many cases, the officer doesn’t have to leave the office. This “free” information is often so complete, when confronted with their personal social media posts, offenders realize they have no defense.