Social media becoming important tool for policing

By Produced by Eight Forty-Eight
Social media becoming important tool for policing
Police increasingly rely on social media and new technology to track and catch offenders. Flickr/Scott Ableman
Social media becoming important tool for policing
Police increasingly rely on social media and new technology to track and catch offenders. Flickr/Scott Ableman

Social media becoming important tool for policing

By Produced by Eight Forty-Eight
WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

For those who thought the future of crime fighting would look like RoboCop, think again. The future is here and it is social media. A recent incident where a 17-year-old Chicago Public School student was beaten in Bridgeport by a group of individuals shone a spotlight on law enforcement tactics. Specifically, the focus has been a sharp turn towards utilizing Facebook and Twitter to catch bad guys.

Eight Forty-Eight wondered how the Chicago Police Department has been using social media—and how other cities have been using Twitter and Facebook?

Eight Forty-Eight was joined in studio by Chicago Police Superintendent . Toronto Police Social Media liaison Scott Mills and Evanston Police Commander Jay Parrot and WBEZ’s criminal and legal affairs reporter Robert Wildeboer joined the conversation.

CPD Supt. Garry McCarthy with WBEZ's Robert Wildeboer. (WBEZ/Bill Healy)