Skip to main content
Tags: police | social media | successes

6 Social Media Successes of Police

By    |   Monday, 22 June 2015 06:35 PM EDT

Law enforcement is increasingly using social media to investigate, share information, and catch culprits.

Four in five departments say social media has helped them solve crimes, according to a study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Here are some successful uses of social media by police:

Urgent: Should All Police Officers Have to Wear Body Cameras?

1. Police in Cincinnati dismantled a local street gang by arresting 71 people after a nine-month investigation using information from social media, police records, and phone records to establish link between suspects.

2. In Minnesota, a man suspected of using a fake Facebook page to speak with underage girls pleaded guilty after the social media company turned over two and a half years of information from the man’s profile, including more than 800 chats with minors.

3. Real Time Crime Center Specialist Dawn Keating used Facebook and other social networking sites to identify and locate key gang members of the North Side Taliban, preventing violence from erupting, according to FOX 19. Keating was the first Cincinnati officer to use social media in an investigation.

4. A 15-month-old girl was returned to her mother in Utah after Salt Lake City's Unified Police Department posted pictures of her with a caretaker on social media, KSL.com reported.

Vote Now: Does Media Coverage Make Police Officers' Jobs More Dangerous?

5. After California's Redwood City Police Department posted on Pinterest a picture of a mother's bracelet engraved with the names and birth dates of her children, three phone calls came in helping identify the woman. The bracelet had been stolen three decades ago in a burglary, Boston.com reported.

6. England's West Midlands Police located a missing man 12 minutes after a post about him was put on Facebook. A community member had seen the appeal, saw the missing individual, picked him up, and took him to the police station.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


FastFeatures
Law enforcement is increasingly using social media to investigate, share information, and catch culprits.
police, social media, successes
316
2015-35-22
Monday, 22 June 2015 06:35 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.

PLEASE NOTE: All information presented on Newsmax.com is for informational purposes only. It is not specific medical advice for any individual. All answers to reader questions are provided for informational purposes only. All information presented on our websites should not be construed as medical consultation or instruction. You should take no action solely on the basis of this publication’s contents. Readers are advised to consult a health professional about any issue regarding their health and well-being. While the information found on our websites is believed to be sensible and accurate based on the author’s best judgment, readers who fail to seek counsel from appropriate health professionals assume risk of any potential ill effects. The opinions expressed in Newsmaxhealth.com and Newsmax.com do not necessarily reflect those of Newsmax Media. Please note that this advice is generic and not specific to any individual. You should consult with your doctor before undertaking any medical or nutritional course of action.

 

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved