Social mediaAuthorities scour social media for electronic evidence

Social media postings lead to arrests // Source: yfittopostblog.com

Suspects using e-mail, text messages, social networks, and other electronic means of communicating to plan illicit visitations or to brag about offenses committed or planned are unwittingly making cases for their own convictions.Because of this, authorities are resorting more and more so to these outlets to support their criminal investigations.

Marana High School graduates Jake Brown and Otis Bartley, for example, used Facebook to post alleged jokes against their alma mater shortly after the 8 January shootings in Tucson.

The messages “Marana won’t know what hit em tomorrow” and “Marana High School r.i.p.” got Brown and Bartley arrested on misdemeanor charges, and also illustrated a growing trend in self-incrimination that detectives are keying in on.

Investigations now involve the scouring of websites, e-mail accounts, text messages, and other electronic communications for evidence of crimes such as harassment, sex crimes against minors and murder.

Oftentimes, a confession that can be next-to-impossible to extract during an interview can be found posted online for the world to see. Suspects brag about crimes committed, send threatening messages, illicit photos and racy text messages to minors via social media websites, smart phones, or other technologies.

While some people freely post incriminating information about themselves out of bravado, others do not understand the wide reach of social media, said Sheri Bauman, an associate professor and director of the school counseling program at the University of Arizona’s College of Education. If they have a lot of online friends, information—even if it is posted on a “private” network—can spread quickly and eventually be seen by a police officer, said Bauman, who has studied cyberbullying for almost six years.

“They don’t realize other people can pass it along,” she said.

Some people just do not think about what they are writing, or the consequences of writing it, before they post, she said. And some knowingly post incriminating content, but minimize the danger in their minds, she said.

“Some of it is really just exhibitionism,” she said.

And police officers are taking notice. Cases involving child sex crimes can sometimes be made almost entirely from electronic evidence, said Lt. Bob Wilson, commander of the Tucson Police Department’s Internet crimes against children unit.

“Before, it was just a kids’ statement,” said Tucson police Detective Daniel Barry. Now, officers troll chat rooms looking for people who prey on underage victims, and they also can see text messages, electronic photos, and website posts that can serve as evidence.

The technique has become so common that