Police scour net in thief hunt

Log on to catch a crook

INTERNET crime fighters are helping police catch offenders and track down stolen cars by uploading vital information to social media networks.

Police are becoming more social media savvy and monitoring online accounts as part of criminal investigations.

It comes after members of the Townsville Crime Alerts and Discussion ( TCAD) Facebook page uploaded sightings of two cars after they were stolen from Deeragun.

The information reportedly helped police track the suspects.

Northern Region Assistant Commissioner Paul Taylor said information on social media sites was sometimes inaccurate, but it was now a vital resource for police.

“Social media is crucial to investigations these days,” he said. “Not everything is the truth but there are occasions when information on social media is quite valid and it is an area where investigators look.

“As more and more people use social media, police are … using it as an opportunity to gather information.”

In the Deeragun car theft incident last Monday, the alleged thieves used a stolen car for joy- riding, with outraged community members uploading sightings to Facebook.

TCAD founder Torhild Parkinson said the administrators of the page were increasingly working with police.

As more people use social media, police are using it as an

opportunity to gather information

“Every day we pass on as much information as we can,” she said. “My admins have found close to six vehicles in the last week.

“It’s one of the fastest ways people can get information out there. We do our best to operate within the law and help police.”

The page now has more than 25,000 members and strict rules have been put in place to filter out incorrect or defamatory information.

Ms Parkinson said around 30 cars had been stolen in the past two weeks, 15 of which had been posted to the page.

Mr Taylor said criminals often bragged about their offences on social media.

“It always amazes me how stupid people are … There are individuals who commit criminal activities where they expose those offences to friends on Facebook,” he said.

“We’re always trawling social media pages and gathering and utilising that information.

“We’ve seen where people have taken photos of a range of matters and used them on social media, exposing themselves.”

PAUL TAYLOR