For those who dismiss Facebook as a time-waster's plaything, where "friends" post unflattering pictures and smart-arse colleagues write cryptic status updates, a little story from New Zealand may make them think again.
Police in Queenstown, southern New Zealand, are trumpeting their "first Facebook arrest" after they posted security-camera footage and pictures showing a man's face as he attempted to break into the safe of a bar on Monday. The local man, 21, is due to appear in court today.
He was caught thanks to "members of the public viewing him on Facebook and also seeing him on TV after the Facebook images were displayed on the news", police said in a statement on their Facebook page.
It appears that our would-be thief was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Local media said the man got too hot while trying to break into the safe, took off his balaclava and showed his face to a security camera.
"He was a very silly young boy. The room is really small and it gets really hot in there at the best of times," said the bar's assistant manager, Mel Kelly.
It is not the first time the social networking site has been used to track down criminals. Last November Facebook helped a seafood restaurant owner in Melbourne identify five customers who walked out without paying having spent $A520 on oysters, trout and fine wine. One of the diners had asked about a former waitress. A quick stroll down her friends later and the bill dodgers had been spotted.
Last month an Australian lawyer served legal documents on a couple via Facebook. Mark McCormack tracked them down after they defaulted on a large loan and was given permission by the Australian courts to use the social networking site to file papers against them.
Great to see social networking sites spearheading the fight against crime, but it does raise the question: who dawdles on a police force's Facebook profile?
CNN's version-
Police in southern New Zealand nabbed a would-be burglar after they posted security camera images of him trying to break into a safe on the popular social networking site, Facebook.
Having removed his balaclava after his efforts made him hot, the would-be burglar looks up at a security camera.
The Queenstown police are calling it their first Facebook arrest. The police department created its online presence on the site just two months ago, said Constable Sean Drader.
"It's pretty popular, isn't it, this site?" Drader told CNN Wednesday, surprised at the quick success.
The 21-year-old masked man allegedly broke into a local pub through a roof early Monday morning and spent considerable time trying to crack open a safe using an angle grinder.
"It's a very small room that he broke into, and it was hot weather. It's summer here," Drader said. "There are sparks flying all about him. And after about an hour, he gets too hot and takes his gloves and balaclava off."
Unable to break open the safe, the man gave up and got ready to leave, Drader said.
"He looks around to see if he's forgotten anything, and he looks up right at the camera. It was rather silly. We got a good look," he said.
The police department posted the surveillance camera photos on its Facebook page. By the next day, the man was in custody, fingered by viewers who recognized him from the images on the site, and from TV segments on the Facebook posting.
Police did not release the suspect's name, but said the Queenstown native is charged with two counts of burglary.
Facebook, the Web's most popular social networking site, allows users to create personal profiles. They can then connect with one another, upload photos and share links. The site boasts more than 90 million active users.
In November, Facebook helped a seafood restaurant owner in Melbourne identify five customers who dined on oysters, trout and expensive wine and then bolted without paying the US $323 bill.
According to media reports, the owner remembered one of the diners asking about a former waitress.
The waitress suggested the restaurateur look through her friend's list on Facebook. A quick scroll later, the owner spotted one of the bill dodgers.From The TechHerald.com
Not that it will come as a surprise to many, but social networking colossus Facebook has now officially usurped the reign of the once invincible MySpace, surpassing the News Corp-owned network based on June’s global online audience figures.
Facebook unceremoniously shoved MySpace from its throne yesterday when online statistics released by the number crunchers at comScore revealed that Facebook drew a massive 132 million viewers in June, while MySpace managed just 117.5 million.
While June’s figures put clear distance between the two social network heavyweights, comScore has also noted that Facebook first deposed MySpace as far back as April of this year and has experienced a 153 percent growth increase in the last 12 months.
. . . it’s not just Facebook that’s benefiting, with the total global draw and attraction of social networking having increased by a huge 25 percent to 580.51 million people, according to comScore’s figures. In terms of regional coverage improvements, North America registered a jump of around nine percent, while the Middle East and Africa saw a huge climb of 66 percent and Europe posted an increase of some 35 percent. Latin America registered a user increase of around 33 percent.
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