“Political extremists, criminals and gang members are advertising their wares, flaunting their exploits and recruiting new members in 140 characters or less, according to law enforcement authorities, criminologists and security experts” (Bello and Diblasio, USA Today).
To
some, Twitter is a place to meet and engage with friends over cyber space, and
to others, it is a way to network your career in a professional atmosphere. In
addition to all of the social and professional uses for Twitter, acts of
criminal advertising, and even recruitment have become increasingly prominent within
the Twitter-sphere. Twitter is being manipulated by certain individuals to
promote illegal activities such as prostitution and the selling of drugs, as
well has to boast about crimes that have already been committed.
The
threat of criminal behavior has moved from the streets to social networking
sites, causing many law enforcement agencies to set up accounts on various social
media sites to allow them to monitor criminal acts occurring online. Believe it
or not, the rise in criminal behavior online has actually proved to be
beneficial for law enforcement officials. Through extensive monitoring of
social networks, police have gathered quite a bit of evidence on crimes that
have already occurred, and even made several arrests because of it.
The way I see it, Twitter
is a double-edged sword. When used “correctly” Twitter is a great place to
socialize and network, however there is always the select few of the population
who can take something like a social networking site, and use it for “evil”. In
my opinion, it was only a matter of time before Twitter and other social
networks alike, were manipulated for purposes other than what it was intended
for. I see this trend of criminal activity becoming a more prominent issue in
the future, but I also see this occurrence as becoming more and more beneficial
as a resource of deriving evidence and stopping.
Bello, Marisol, and Diblasio, Natalie. "Twitter: The new face of crime." USA Today 29 09 2013, n. pag. Web. 29 Sep. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/29/twitter-crime-dark-side/2875745/>.
This is a little bit of a surprise to me. If I were to commit a crime I would do the dirty deed then keep my mouth shut, and pray for the best. This goes to show the ignorance of the American people. This is obviously a good thing the criminals continue to boast their hold up at a liquor or grocery store. I hope it continues to last! This does post an interesting concept when combined with the other blog about Google Glasses. Are criminals going to start live streaming their heists? Will they film the robbery, upload the video, then brag about it online? It is an interesting idea. I do not know if anyone is dumb enough to try, but only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that people are trying to use Twitter as a way to meet each other to do criminal deeds (like lets meet here and I'll give you the drugs type thing) but am surprised that they would actually brag/boast their crime on Twitter or even plan their crime that way. That seems like a really illogical way to go about something illegal and they deserve to be caught (because the action was illegal) but also because they were stupid enough to tell the online world about the crime they committed. It just comes to show that people only commit crimes to get attention. I am glad that police forces have learned that they can use the social media to help them solve cases.
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