Fight Crime with Facebook

We were sent a link to an interesting story from ABC News this past week.  The story was about how homeowners are using video surveillance cameras to capture video of burglaries and other crimes at their homes and then posting the video clips on Facebook to try to identify the bad guys.  Here is the link to the story:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/facebook-fight-crime-13398253

We believe that this really is an interesting use of social media that benefits the greater good.  It is a high-tech version of neighborhood watch!  The criminals need to know that breaking into someone’s home is not okay and they will be tracked down.

In Atlanta where we are located, there was another story in the local news in 2009 about a break-in that was caught on camera.  The homeowners posted the video on YouTube and the criminals were caught.  Score one for the good guys.  This is the link to that story:

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/homeowners-cops-battle-burglars-128223.html

The combination of online tools such as YouTube and Facebook along with video from good video surveillance systems can be effective tools for identifying criminals.  Video surveillance systems don’t have to be expensive.  You can start with as little as one camera and then expand your system over time.  It is another weapon in the crime-fighting arsenal!