A New Tool for Law Enforcement

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Facebook:

A new tool for law enforcement in Maine

Andrew E. BraleyUniversity of Maine at Augusta

December 20, 2013



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Table of Contents

Cover Page………………………………………………………………1

Table of Contents………………………………………………………..2

Introduction………………………………………………………….…..3

Information Posted………………………………………………………3

Posting Decisions………………………………………………………..5

Public Response…………………………………………………………6

Effectiveness………………………………………………………….…7

Growth…………………………………………………………………..9

Conclusion………………………………………………………..……11

Works Cited……………………………………………………………12



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Introduction

Since 2004, Facebook has developed from a simple social media site for friends and

classmates, into a tool that law enforcement agencies across the world use daily. Maine has a

notoriously stereotyped history for “lagging behind in the age of technology,” but more recently,

police departments in the state have begun to sign on, and utilize, social media outlets. The

question to answer now is how do law enforcement agencies use sites such as Facebook, and

what are some of the subsequent results? Many local police departments and state agencies, such

as the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine State Police, are on Facebook and

actively update their pages to better serve their communities. This paper will outline what sort of

information is posted and who posts it, the public’s response of the page, how effective the posts

are, and future growth in the social media domain. First, let’s look at what sort of information is

posted by these agencies.

Information Posted

Facebook offers police departments ways to spread information that have a direct impact

on the community in which they serve. Police Departments may use their discretion as to what is

posted, but many follow the department’s media release policy guidelines (M.S.P, 2013). Many

agencies use Facebook as a way to inform the citizens of criminal activity. Often times,

information regarding a crime is posted immediately after an arrest is made or a summons is

given (B.P.D, E.P.D, 2013). This allows the people to be informed of what is going on within the

community, while also following department guidelines for public information. Depending on

the severity or nature of the incident, some information may be deemed unfit to post onto the

Facebook page. Also, not all crimes are posted, and it is at the discretion of the department as to



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which are posted, and which are withheld (B.H.P.D, 2013). The Maine State Police Page also

distributes the weekly information reports via Facebook. These reports give a basic overview of

what happened within the Troop for the week, similar to a Police Blotter found in a newspaper.

Departments also use Facebook as a means to inform the citizens of dangerous weather or

road conditions. Many of the agencies interviewed cited that they use their page for both driving

hazards and crimes. Other departments have elected to only post information about traffic

conditions such as weather, parades, route closures, and parking bans rather than criminal

activity (H.P.D, 2013).

Another use of Facebook is the assistance of returning lost or missing items. Several

departments have reported that people have been reunited with their property via Facebook posts

(Bgr.P.D, E.P.D, 2013). Pictures of pets and missing animals are commonly sent to the police

departments page, which are then shared with the community in hopes of reaching a broad base

and finding the animal.

Police departments also use Facebook as a way to promote the department image. Events

and activities that involve the police department in some way are posted alongside pictures and

articles that relate (B.P.D, 2013). This can be critical in maintaining a positive public image, as

well as developing a trusting relationship with those who are within the community.

Lastly, Facebook is beginning to become a method of recruitment by posting job

advertisements. Many more people are on social media than read the paper, or venture onto a

police departments site. Thus, the ability to start the candidate pool from a large source increases

the chances of finding a good match for what the department needs (M.S.P, 2013).



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Overall, Facebook for law enforcement agencies in Maine use the site to inform citizens

of crimes that have happened, keep drivers up-to-date on road conditions, find and/or return lost

items, and somewhat as a recruitment tool. Next, we will discuss who is behind the posts on

Facebook.

Posting Decisions

Although the Facebook pages of departments represent the agency as a whole, generally

only one or two people are set to manage the task of moderating the page. Some departments

have a Public Information Officer, or PIO. This officer is in charge of media releases, public

relations, and more recently, maintaining the department’s Facebook page. The PIO position, or

moderator position, is sometimes given to those within a supervisory rank (M.S.P, 2013). A few

departments had officers that wished to start a Facebook page, and were granted permission from

the administration to do so, thereby resulting in the creation of the Facebook page (B.H.P.D,

B.P.D, E.P.D, 2013). Other department PIO’s assumed the role because no one else wanted to

maintain the page, nor had an interest in social media (Bgr.P.D, H.P.D, 2013). In some instances,

administrative access is given to several officers such as the PIO and the chief, or people of the

similar rank in differing troops (M.S.P, 2013).

As mentioned above, the Facebook page is generally overseen by one or two people,

these administrators of the page may, or may not, have final say about what is posted. Some

departments rely on one person to post and moderate the page, but still run the posts by their

superior or the chief (E.P.D, H.P.D, 2013) Other agency PIO’s have the final say and may post to

their discretion (B.H.P.D, Bgr.P.D, 2013). Lastly, some police departments split the ability

through several officers to expand the breadth of information posted (B.P.D, M.S.P, 2013).



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When departments decide to post, the information is then released to the social media

community to be spread and shared to hundreds of people almost instantly. How do the citizens

of Maine’s communities respond to the posts on Facebook?

Public Response

On average, the amount of likes a police department in Maine has is around 5,750. This is

based on the mean of 10 Maine police department pages likes. A large portion of departments

receive a positive public response with active community members contributing towards the

spread of information or the giving of information to the agency. Noted in several interviews,

departments rarely post anything without a return of likes or shares from it’s followers.

Every person on Facebook has an average of 130 friends (StatisticBrain, 2013), which

means that if every person who likes a department shares a post, that is 747,500 people that have

now been exposed to the post. Taking even 50% away for inactive profiles or people that don’t

share, it’s still nearly 370,000 people that have the potential to see the posted information.

Not only does information go out, information may also come into the page. Messaging

and wall posts allow for citizens to report crimes, in essence, creating a new tip line for law

enforcement (M.S.P, B.H.P.D, 2013). Of course, further action is needed to substantiate these

tips, but it does allow for those within the community to instantly submit data to the police via

the web.

As expected, not everyone may agree with law enforcement officers and will post

something negative or even aggressive towards a police department. It is the moderators

responsibility to remove such posts, and occasionally send the poster a message explaining why

their post was removed or banned (E.P.D, M.S.P, 2013).



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Stated above, nearly all communities are very welcoming of having a police department

presence online. It serves several functions as well as providing another method of

communication for law enforcement agencies within the state. But, what does law enforcement

do with all this information, and how beneficial is it?

Effectiveness

Most departments use Facebook to not only inform the public about crimes, but also as a

way to get information. According to LexisNexis, 81% of law enforcement usage of Facebook is

for investigative reasons. (2012). There are several types of investigations that can be done on

social media.

First, identifying suspects plays a very large role towards the use of Facebook by Maine

police agencies. Departments from around the state say that after a picture is posted, the public is

very quick to recognize who is in it [the picture]. Ellsworth Police Department stated “The

fastest was 6 seconds after I posted a photo I had three calls on hold identifying the suspect. I

would venture that we post three or four videos a month of suspects and at least 75% are

identified within the first hour” (2013). Although most departments interviewed do not keep

records about which crimes are solved via Facebook, many can attribute at least 1 criminal case

solved via information from Facebook (Bgr.P.D, B.H.P.D, B.P.D, E.P.D, M.S.P, 2013).

Another way Facebook is used in investigations is to locate suspects and perpetrators.

Hallowell Police Department noted that because it is public information, they are able to use this

[Facebook] as a tool to find whomever they are looking for. Some departments generate fictitious

accounts and request to be friends with the suspect, who then posts or “checks in” often enough

for the officers to track, and apprehend, the suspect. According to LexisNexis, 66% of social



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media usage for law enforcement investigations nation-wide is used to locate criminal activity

and/persons of interest (2012).

Another tool Maine law enforcement agencies are using Facebook for is to identify

suspects and acquaintances. Nationally, approximately 75% of investigations occurring on

Facebook by police departments are officers scanning profiles for criminal activity (LexisNexis,

2012). Departments in Maine are following suit with profiles, as noted above, that are friends

with people who post illegal activities on the public domain. In addition to finding direct illegal

activities, social media sites may also be used to find acquaintances. These may be use to lead

the officer towards new witnesses, accomplices, or suspects (M.S.P, H.P.D, 2013).

Can officers use what they find on Facebook to obtain a warrant? According to the Law

Enforcement Personnel Use of Social Media in Investigations, “87% of the time, social media

evidence holds up in court when used for probable cause to secure a search

warrant.” (LexisNexis, 2012). Although Facebook can be used by someone other than whom the

profile says, it still provides a wealth of information for officers to use in obtaining critical

investigation data (H.P.D, 2013).

Another reason why Facebook is so effective as a tool is due to the speed of information

sharing. Because there is no time limit set before a post can be made (usually), it provides

citizens with real-time information. Maine State Police imparted that it is the immediacy that

makes it [Facebook] so effective. As referred to several times above, identification of suspects in

pictures or videos has been one of the biggest, and fastest, responses (M.S.P, E.P.D, Bgr.P.D,

B.P.D, 2013). Amber Alerts and BOLO’s are also able to be spread quickly using Facebook,



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significantly increasing the chances of locating the person before they disappear out of the

jurisdiction of the department (H.P.D, 2013).

In addition to providing criminal investigative details, it also gives departments a chance

to peer into the background of a potential new hire. Police departments conduct background

checks on individuals applying for a position within the agency. Most candidates have an

account, so officers check out their friends, pictures, and post history to ensure that the applicant

is a morally, and legally, responsible figure (M.S.P, 2013).

As one tool in the resources of law enforcement of Maine police departments, Facebook

has proved invaluable in several ways. Overall, the addition of an agency Facebook page has

increased the number of tips received, increased the speed at which some crimes are solved, and

helped provide officers with more information that may have been inaccessible before.

Growth

Julia Bayly, from Bangor Daily News, reports that Presque Isle Police Department will be

releasing a new application that allows citizens to “Keep track of a number of departmental

activities and alerts” (2013). This is just one way in which social media will continue to grow for

law enforcement in the state of Maine. 74% of police officers surveyed believe that the social

media outlets for departments in the nation will grow by next year (LexisNexis, 2012).

Growth and expansion are the hopes of the departments because “Social media is

becoming the new communication method” (M.S.P, 2013). Ellsworth Police Department says “A

Facebook update is shared hundreds of times and people that ‘like’ our page get notifications.”

By gaining followers and utilizing other venues of social media, police officers are able to

expand reach, influence, and investigative abilities.



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Bar Harbor Police Department states “The reach of social media has proved to invaluable

for a community that deals with so many individual’s that do not live locally” (2013). Many

followers for each department page are people who are interested in the city, have previous ties

or family there, or are following to stay up-to-date with events happening around the area. “It’s

keeping us in contact with a lot of residents, and we have fans from all over the state and even

people who used to live in the area and moved out of state.” (Bayly, 2013). This sphere of

influence can help all departments either directly or indirectly.

Information sharing between departments is another great way to utilize social media.

What is posted by one department may be shared, or linked to, another department. Looking

back at the average number of followers per department, the foundation of information nearly

doubles in size.

Besides Facebook, there are several other social media sites that departments in Maine

are becoming more familiar with. Twitter, an online micro-blog, is another effective social media

outlet. Able to provide links and short excerpts of information, Twitter is a mobile and quick way

to have direct contact with a police department. Maine State Police have recently begun to utilize

Twitter, as well as some local police departments around the state.

Presque Isle just released an app, following suit of Aroostook County Sheriff’s

Department, that enables people to get in contact and receive information bulletins from the

agency. Applications for mobile users are effective because they provide easy access, as well as

an anonymous tip-line, in addition to information sent directly to the users phone (Bayly, 2013).

Another way law enforcement are expanding their presence in social media is through

Youtube. Maine State Police are creating recruitment videos to showcase what State Troopers do,



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and how to become one (M.S.P, 2013). This mode of information sharing expands past the shares

and likes, and is viewed based upon searches. Other departments around the state, such as

Bangor and Portland, have also created recruitment videos that, again, expand past the borders of

likes and shares, and into searches as broad “Police” or “Maine”.

Conclusion

In what ways does Facebook affect law enforcement in Maine? First, it provides a way

for information to be given to the public straight from the police department. This instills a level

of trust and respect, as well as giving citizens immediate responses and updates. It also provides

law enforcement with the ability to identify, locate, or investigate people that it would not have

had access to prior. Nearly all departments interviewed stated that Facebook, if not currently, will

soon be a necessary tool in the field of criminal justice.



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Works Cited

Bayly, J. (2013, December 15). Maine law enforcement agencies embrace social media, connect

with public to help solve cases. Bangor Daily News. Retrieved from http://

bangordailynews.com/2013/12/15/news/state/maine-law-enforcement-agencies-

embrace-social-media-connect-with-public-to-help-solve-cases/?ref=search

Charette, R. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Maine State Police. [M.S.P]

Clark, K. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Hallowell Police Department. [H.P.D]

Doucette, L. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Brunswick Police Department. [B.P.D]

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions. (2012). Survey of Law Enforcement Personnel and Their Use of

Social Media in Investigations. Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/investigations.

Rumsey, C. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Bangor Police Department. [Bgr.P.D]

Small, D. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Ellsworth Police Department. [E.P.D]

StatisticsBrain(2013, June 23). Facebook Statistics. Retrieved from http://

www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/

Tierney, D. (2013, November). Interview by A Braley. Bar Harbor Police Department. [B.H.P.D]

A New Tool for Law Enforcement

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