Investigations and the Internet
December 17th, 2009 by adminI knew that the networking sites like Myspace.com and
Facebook.com were popular, but I was shocked at the extent.
Myspace.com claims over 200 million users (although it’s unclear
how many of those are active). What’s even more staggering is that
Facebook.com claims 350 million active users, and those numbers
are still growing (Facebook overtook MySpace in active users in late
2008). The number of unique visitors on Facebook grew by over
150% between June 07 and June 08, according to Comscore.com.
The sheer number of users makes it clear that these sitesand others
like them are an ENORMOUS resource for investigators and anyone
else looking for information.
I was also surprised to learn that over half of Myspace.com visitors
are at least 35 years old. At least that’s the age they give when
they create their profile. I read through Myspace.com’s and
Facebook.com’s terms of use agreements and noticed that, on both
of these sites, one has to be at least 13 years old to be eligible to
create a profile. I’d bet a lot of money that there are plenty of kids
with a Myspace or Facebook page that are younger than that. Of
course that means that they are lying when they create their profile.
That may lead to some credibility issues in court.
Many law enforcement agencies utilize a variety of
websites, including Myspace.com and Facebook.com, as a means
of finding evidence and other information that supports their
investigation. They have varying degrees of success depending on
what their subjects have posted. After just a few minutes of
research, I was astonished at what I found people were posting on
their public pages. I found pictures of people posing with guns
and drugs. Others wrote on their message boards and blogs about
killing law enforcement officers and snitches. Underage kids had
posted pictures of themselves and their friends drinking at parties.
If all of these things are on public pages, I’m very curious about
what could possibly be on the private pages. If I were a criminal
defense lawyer, I would have my clients take down anything that
they’ve posted online for fear it could really be used against them.
These websites are clearly helpful to police officers and probation
officers. They can also be utilized by private investigators and
defense investigators. Not just Myspace.com and Facebook.com
either. Other sites, like Linkedin.com and Classmates.com, can have
valuable information.
Just by doing a quick Google search I was easily able to find a work
location and work schedule for one person I was recently trying to
find. That helped me pinpoint when they’d be home and I didn’t have
to waste my time on a stake out. Even finding out something as
simple as a favorite football team of a witness you have to interview
may help you build rapport. There are a million blogs and forums
out there about all kinds of things. Many cities have community
blogs where people write about crimes and other incidents that
occur where they live. News and other media sites also have blogs
and forums.
The amount of information out there is endless, and the internet
isn’t going anywhere. Blogs and networking sites will only get more
popular. If you have to conduct any type of investigation, start by
searching the internet. Learn as much as you can about your case
before you hit the streets.