Crime and Facebook

“we can use Facebook to track down a criminal.” FACEBOOK in spite of being an internet social networking site has its weak points. Naïve people have fallen into the hands of criminals such as psychopaths, drug addicts and murderers. Most of the information posted as their profile is not usually true. A case in hand is the Facebook killing suspect Peter Chapman. According to The Sun, of November 2nd 2009, he tried to seduce a second look alike of his fiancée who had ditched him. He used a teen photo of Paul Arnold to befriend over 6,000 women and girls. The practice of posting personal details such as birth dates, addresses and phone numbers on Facebook is proving to be unwise since hackers can use this kind of information for illegal dealings even with the mild nature of such information. In Rwanda, millions of people use Facebook thanks to the fast growing internet era and the country’s vision of becoming a regional ICT hub. However, the disadvantages are still unknown to many. According to Eric Kayiranga, the Police Spokesperson, Facebook has not been a source of crime, but rather has been used by the police to nab criminals. “Facebook crime cases have not been reported in Rwanda as yet but we can use Facebook to track down a criminal,” Kayiranga said. He further stressed that the Police uses all means most especially the electronic media, to track down criminals “With the help of Interpol data bases and the I-24/7 process definitely a criminal can be tracked down as long as the country they are in is a member of Interpol,” Kayiranga explained. People signing up on Facebook and other social networking sites stand warned: If Facebookers don’t want to end up being incriminated in cases they don’t know because hackers have access to users’ personal details and sometimes use them for illegal dealings. The US federal law enforcement agents use Facebook to search for evidence and witnesses in criminal cases, and in some instances, track suspects, according to a newly released justice department memo. The Police can use Facebook since it has additional information such as photographs, status updates and friend lists especially if they want to use someone as a bait to get or track down a criminal since their information is publicly accessible. dorau20@yahoo.co.uk