Cops Use Facebook to Track Illegal Weapons

[SecularMotion]

Cops in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn are dealing with one of New York City’s most crime-infested areas by spending more time on Facebook. That’s where they’ve found plenty of evidence of illegal gun possession and are nabbing criminals who post pictures of themselves living la vida loca.

Officers and detectives in the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville spend part of their shifts every week on Facebook, looking for pictures of weapons and evidence of gang activity, according to the Daily News. And it’s working.

Compared to statistics for the rest of the city, in Brownsville cops took more illegal guns off the streets in 2012 than the year before. Gangsters apparently post pictures of themselves with guns, drugs and money, and it doesn’t take cops long to track them down.

“We have identified the bad guys and we are going after them,” Deputy Inspector Joseph Gulotta, the precinct commander, told the Daily News. “Social media has changed everything.”

http://blogs.lawyers.com/2013/02/cops-facebook-track-illegal-weapons/?cid=con:105

[Mopar151]

1. Some real rocket surgeons in Brownsville......

"They'll never find out" is a mantra for stupid criminals.

[Jenoch]

2. "Tracking illegal weapons"?

It reads to me that they are finding stupid criminals possesing guns illegally.

[Straw Man]

3. Good for them.

That's what they should be doing: going after criminals and leaving law-abiding gun owners alone.

I don't see it as a privacy issue. When people post on an open Facebook page, they have chosen to make that information public. If you choose to make criminal activity public, don't be surprised when you're arrested.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

4. I applaud the Brownsville Police...

...in their use strategic use of intelligence.

"rec"

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. Good on the cops- stupidity like that *should* hurt...

[ManiacJoe]

6. Cops have been doing this for years.

If the majority of criminals were smart, the cops would have a much harder time with their job.

[Eleanors38]

9. That is an iron law of criminology.

[GreenStormCloud]

7. Funniest thread in a looong time.

I bet they are surprised when they get arrested.

[ileus]

8. My Facebook account has 21 BST gun groups...FB is the wave of the future.

It helped me ditch a mini and pick up my first Sig last year.

I'm really thinking my next pistol will come from one of the groups. All I have to do is wait for the proper opportunity to be posted.