PALATKA, Fla. — You may hear about the Crime Stoppers hotline all the time, reporting information on a crime anonymously, but how does that really help police investigations? The Putnam County Sheriff's Office says your tip can help.
A video you may find while scrolling through social media might be watched a dozen times by an investigator.
According to the sheriff's office, social media is “one of the best and worst things that's ever happened to law enforcement.”
For Colonel Joseph Wells, social media has been one of the biggest changes he's witnessed during his 25-year career in the police force.
The one thing social media can't edit out is the increase of victimization on apps like Instagram and Facebook. Social media crimes the PCSO responds to can span from cyberstalking and scams, to arresting sexual predators.
"We're seeing young folks targeted and convinced and befriended to share illicit photos of themselves," Wells told First Coast News. "And then they're being held ransom, they're demanding money or will share these photos. And so, that is almost a weekly occurrence that we're dealing with, a case like that."
Wells adds that young people are being victimized just within a chat. That same chat is used as evidence, and now social media can give investigators a track record leading up to a crime.
“What it does do is create a trail," Wells said. "That trail obviously requires you know, that we meet certain legal criteria to get the necessary search warrants and everything we need to see that, but it certainly creates that trail."
This and the sheriff's office using social media to quickly inform the public has also made this kind of technology a crucial part of their investigative tool kit.
“It also, a lot of times provides a platform for us to become aware of a crime or a victim that we may never have known about in the past,” Wells said.
The hardest criminal to stop is the rapid spreading of inaccurate information. Wells says when they read through social media groups and posts, the misinformation they encounter can complicate investigations and causes additional challenges.
“When I grew up waiting, you know, for the evening news, or the 11 o'clock news in the morning, news is how we got it out the newspaper," Wells said. "To come out now is instantaneous, and the desire and the need for that is so powerful, that they'll fill that need sometimes with false information."
With the pros and cons, overall Wells says social media is increasing awareness for law enforcement of serious crimes happening right in the palm of your hands.