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Law enforcement learns to ‘like’ Facebook

Forays into social media manage to nab criminals in unexpected ways

By Kirk Brown
Anderson Independent-Mail

ANDERSON, S.C. — A growing number of law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff’s offices in Anderson and Pickens counties, are creating Facebook pages to enlist the public’s help to solve crimes.

“It’s the wave of the now,” said Chad McBride, spokesman for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, which created its second Facebook page last month.

Sometimes these forays into social media manage to nab criminals in unexpected ways.

Several months ago, a Liberty man posted a rant on the Pickens County sheriff’s Facebook page. Investigators discovered that he was a registered sex offender who was not supposed to have a computer, Assistant Sheriff Tim Morgan said.

“As a result, we were able to make a criminal case against him,” Morgan said.

In September the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Center for Social Media released the results of a survey involving 800 law enforcement agencies from 49 states. A total of 88.1 percent of these agencies reported that they were now using social media. The most common use of social media was for investigating crimes.

“Organizations in any arena that dismiss social media will find themselves falling behind,” warned a fact sheet from the chiefs association.

The Facebook pages created by sheriff’s officials in Anderson and Pickens counties feature a variety of information.

The Facebook page for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office community services unit included Black Friday and Cyber Monday safety tips.

On their newly created Facebook page, Anderson County sheriff’s officials have posted photos of a suspect in the theft of a chainsaw and string trimmer from a carport on Varnwood Drive in Anderson on Nov. 6. The page includes a video of a pickup that was used to steal part of an air-conditioning unit at Powdersville High School on Nov. 7.

The same page has postings about a sheriff’s employee who died in a tractor accident on the night before Thanksgiving and photos of a recent multi-agency SWAT training session.

The goal of the new Facebook page is to “reach out to more people,” said Maj. Gary Bryant, who oversees the Anderson County Detention Center. He is one of four sheriff’s officials responsible for posting information on the page.

McBride said the page could also be used to quickly disseminate information during emergencies.

A posting placed on the Pickens County sheriff’s Facebook page on Wednesday urged residents to prepare for winter weather: “Please take the extra time each morning to clear all the ice from your windshield and please drive safely.”

The page includes information about promotions and awards that sheriff’s employees have earned, as well as details about an unsolved Nov. 27 burglary on South Fishtrap Road.

The new Anderson County sheriff’s Facebook page has received 281 “likes” since it was created in October. The Pickens County sheriff’s has earned 782 “likes” since last year. Morgan said the sheriff’s website receives about 50 times the number of online visitors than its Facebook page.

Both agencies have a way to go before they catch up with the Philadelphia Police Department, which has received 37,169 “likes,” making it one of most popular law enforcement agencies on Facebook.

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