According to an old English proverb, A man is known by the company he keeps. On Facebook, some police officers are keeping company they wouldn’t otherwise keep. Some officers, the same ones who guard themselves, their families and colleagues diligently day in and day out are behaving as though they’ve forgotten they work in one of the most dangerous professions there is.

On Facebook, the tables have been turned on law officers. All those social engineering techniques police investigators do to ferret out pedophiles and gang-bangers with fake profiles in social media are also being used by cop haters to gain intelligence about cops. People who would want to harm police officers are creating profiles to look like cops, and officers are friending them in the same way they’d have a buddy over for dinner, opening the front door and saying “come on in”.

There is no telltale sign that a profile on Facebook that appears to be a police officer is not really a police officer. It’s a combination of things that gives us reason to believe a profile might be phony. But those same reasons might also be interpreted as signs of a cop trying to protect his identity. Things like vague references to one’s employer, a profile photo depicting an eagle, the flag or even Jesus, are all prevalent on these fake profiles. Look at the photo albums and there are rarely photos of real people. Instead we see images including cartoon characters, logos, random military and police photos.

One profile we know to have been fake is that of “Ron Swalows”. Have your laugh at the name and then, please take this seriously. It’s a believable cop profile because in this case, there’s a photo of a real cop in uniform.

Close inspection will show (look just under his name) that he works for “Police”. Upon clicking on that link we saw a wikipedia-looking page defining a police officer. Facebook told me how many mutual friends we had. I emailed a couple of those friends, real friends I know in real life that are law officers. I emailed them to ask what they knew about Mr. Swalows. Their response was along the lines of “I don’t know him but he posts all the time in a group I’m in and he seems like a really nice guy”. Folks, that’s part of the ruse. Isn’t that what you do when you’re pretending to be a 15 year old hottie with cleavage who likes bad boys?

The only way we knew for certain that this profile was fake was because we saw that the photo used was that of Larry Nehasil, an officer who was gunned-down in Livonia, Michigan in January of 2011. Here’s Officer Nehasil’s profile on the Officer Down Memorial Page.

These people are learning a lot about the cops who friend them, as well as their colleagues and family members. It sure would be easy to learn an officer’s kids’ names and where they go to school or take karate lessons. I’m extremely concerned for three reasons. By friending a cop, they gain:

1. Access to a law officer’s personal information
2. Credibility to your Facebook friends so they, in turn, friend them too
3. Legitimacy and therefore, entry into private groups on Facebook, gaining valuable intelligence you really don’t want them to have

The only way to guard oneself from these predators – and they are predators – is to be absolutely certain that everyone you friend on Facebook is someone you KNOW is real. They may not be holding a gun to your head but that doesn’t mean they aren’t wishing to harm you just because you wear a uniform. It also doesn’t mean that they’re not just as dangerous as a loaded round headed in your direction. Rest assured there is no Kevlar vest to protect you on Facebook. Your only protection is not to act carelessly. You must keep your guard up just as you are trained to do on the job.

When was the last time someone brought up Twitter or Facebook in a conversation about cops using either when what followed wasn’t something negative? We’ve all heard the negative stories about police use of social media and it’s time we start hearing more about the positive outcomes of police use of social media. LAwS Communications is producing the ConnectedCOPS™ Awards to recognize and celebrate the incredibly great work being done by law enforcement agencies and law officers all over the planet.

Nominations are open through May 31st. Judging will take place in June and July and winners will be notified in early August. Our award sponsors are Nixle and LexisNexis. We have four more spots for sponsorships, contact LAwS Communications for more information about sponsorship. Terms and conditions for the awards are spelled out here.

Winners will receive:

1. Recognition of their achievement at the awards ceremony at The SMILE Conference™ in Richmond
2. A beautiful custom crystal trophy
3. Financial assistance for one to attend SMILE in Richmond
4. Free admittance to The SMILE Conference in Richmond
5. International acknowledgement of their achievement in partnering media publications.

To nominate an agency or law officer, go to the ConnectedCOPS Awards webpage.

There are six categories for these awards, as follows:

ConnectedCOPS Award of Excellence at a Large Agency

This award is given to a law enforcement agency, anywhere in the world, of 151 sworn officers or more that has demonstrated overall excellence in the use of social media to enhance its services to the public. The agency exhibits leadership, creativity and innovation in its use of social media to engage, educate, recruit, and etc. The agency has a broad and deep understanding of social media use and applies sound governance and strategy in its social media operations. The agency also promotes the use of social networking in law enforcement through its outreach to colleagues and by mentoring others.
The nominee for this award must be a law enforcement AGENCY.

ConnectedCOPS Award of Excellence at a Small Agency

This award is given to a law enforcement agency of 150 sworn officers or fewer that has demonstrated overall excellence in the use of social media to enhance its services to the public. The agency exhibits leadership, creativity and innovation in its use of social media to engage, educate, recruit, and etc. The agency has a broad and deep understanding of social media use and applies sound governance and strategy in its social media operations. The agency also promotes the use of social networking in law enforcement through its outreach to colleagues and by mentoring others.
The nominee for this award must be a law enforcement AGENCY.

ConnectedCOPS Leadership Award

This award is given to the individual sworn officer up to and including the rank of Sergeant (or its international equivalent) at any worldwide law enforcement agency who has singularly demonstrated exemplary and selfless leadership in the use of social media to improve public safety and/or enhance his or her agency’s community engagement and reputation. This individual is creative, innovative and fearless and shares what s/he knows by mentoring others, participating in public speaking opportunities and leading by example.
The nominee for this award must be an individual law enforcement officer.

ConnectedCOPS Top Cop Award

This award is given to the sworn law enforcement executive of the rank of LT (or its international equivalent) and up, at any worldwide law enforcement agency who has demonstrated significant and sustained executive leadership to further the use of social media and Internet technologies in law enforcement. This individual is a risk-taker and a pioneer in his or her promotion and use of social media in policing. The recipient of the Top Cop Award also gives his thought leadership and expertise freely to others.
The nominee for this award must be an individual law enforcement officer.

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Investigator

This award is given to the sworn law enforcement investigator at any worldwide law enforcement agency who, as a practitioner, has used social media successfully to solve crime. The Social Media Investigator practices appropriate security measures and supervision in his/her investigations.
The nominee for this award must be an individual law enforcement officer.

ConnectedCOPS Social Media Incident Management

This award is given to the sworn law enforcement officer or agency anywhere in the world who has used social media to manage and/or influence a public safety/emergency event, whether unforeseen or known. This officer/agency has strategically and successfully implemented social media engagement techniques to positively and effectively communicate public safety information in an urgent or emergency situation.
The nominee for this award can be a law enforcement agency OR individual law enforcement professional to include civilians.

To nominate an agency or law officer, go to the ConnectedCOPS Awards webpage.

ConnectedCOPS Awards Partners are:

Police departments are constantly struggling to get the local media to report on topics that, in spite of their best efforts, still go uncovered and they’re frustrated that when they do gain media attention, the story is often reported, well, not quite right. The latest department to up the ante using open source technology and move more towards providing its own news is the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), and the local media are less than thrilled about it.

Earlier this week MPD announced The Source, a blog where it says media and citizens alike can go for the best information about what the PD is up to. In its press release MPD said of its new website:

We’ll correct the news stories that got it wrong and highlight the ones that got it right. …. We encourage you to check back to The Source at www.milwaukeepolicenews.com  when you hear news reports that prompt you to seek more information. We’d like you to check us out first, because we will provide the news to you at the same time we’re providing it to the media.

It’s not only about generating their own news but PD’s are also having to work more efficiently during a time when most are facing cuts to their ranks. Some might think that MPD is acting progressively and efficiently, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel isn’t seeing it that way. It an editorial entitled The bunker at the Milwaukee Police Department the Journal said to expect to hear from the MPD about “what a great job officers are doing” in The Source and updates about “when the next bake sale will be held.” The paper compared the MPD to the Pravda, of the [former] Soviet Union.

Chief Ed Flynn answered the Journal’s editorial, online, on The Source (of course). He pointed out that most large PD’s don’t do daily media briefings and that reporters will still have the same access to ask questions of the PD. He added, “We already have been engaged with the community via a robust presence on social media – Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. We’re not new to the public conversation. We’re enhancing it.”

MPD’s Communications Director Anne Schwartz says her skin has gotten a little thicker this week. She added, “There will still be news conferences, there will still be availabilities with Chief Flynn … This news site replaces the outdated face-to-face briefings with a select few media representatives, with a contemporary platform that enables anyone who wants to, with access to information for all. That is the essence of public information.”

The final word from both opinion pieces pretty much sums up the week’s events:

The Journal editorial ended with,

“The truth, unspun by government officials, usually does get out. This news organization and the others in town will make sure that happens.”

From Chief Flynn, 

“To the Journal Sentinel I say, ‘Welcome to the 21^st Century’.”

Cover image for Kansas City PD "Women Police Officers" Pinterest Board

Another day, another social networking tool. Pinterest is the latest to garner big interest with users, but it’s actually been around for more than a year.

Pinterest is the 16th most popular website in the U.S., the 25th most popular in Canada and the 31st most popular in the UK, according to AppAppeal. As one who advises LE agencies to go where the people are, Pinterest is at the point where law enforcement should give it a serious look.

Pinterest is a photo-based social sharing site that allows you to “share the things you love” by posting them to boards. The question becomes: What does law enforcement love?

The Kansas City Police Department seems to love a lot – at least by evidence of its Pinterest boards! The department has been on Pinterest for only three weeks but already has 19 boards.

According to Public Relations Specialist Sarah Boyd of Kansas City (Mo.) Police, some of the PD’s most popular boards include KCPD Fuzzy Friends, which features photos of its K9 and horse patrol members as well as a cat who mouses the horse barn. Another board is focused on Identifying Street Drugs and another is on Women Police Officers.

Boyd says she first got the idea from the U.S. Army Social Media Team. She said it gives them a place to feature the PD’s thousands of photos but also shows the depth and breath of the department. She added, “a lot of people think of the officer on the street but there are 2,000 people in our department and they all do something different.” KC Police are also interested in having their content appeal to women. In the U.S., Pinterest users are reported to be 83% female (46% in the UK).

In Scotland, there are eight police forces. All eight will be combined into one by this time next year. The deputy chief constable of one of those agencies plans to use Pinterest to honor the history and contribution of his soon-to-be defunct agency. DCC Scobbie is with the Tayside, Scotland Police Service and as the social media lead for policing in the UK, he’s very aware of how powerful social media can be. He said “we want to share the photos we’ve collected over the years with the public and ask them to add theirs. It’s a way of marking the end of Tayside Policing because it won’t exist anymore after April of 2013.”

How about a wanted persons board, an anti-cyberbullying board, a safe driving board, or even a self-defense board? If you can visualize it, you can pin it to a board, and potentially reach large, new audiences.

Controversy about Pinterest centers around copyrighted use of photos. So far there haven’t been any major copyright lawsuits involving Pinterest, but some photo sharing sites have created an option for users to opt their photos out from being pinned. Be aware also, according to Pinterest’s Terms of Service, that anything  you pin publicly becomes useable to others.

This social media QuickTip was originally published on LawOfficer.com on April 11th.

Today, many of us may be impatient for action on broadband mobile mission-critical communications, and understandably so. The call for a nationwide interoperable network for public safety has been heard for more than a decade. Now that Congress has passed legislation reallocating the 700 MHz D Block spectrum to public safety and providing $7 billion in grant money for the creation of such a system, the build-out can finally begin.

LTE is widely viewed as the key to unleashing “the power of the network” for the full scope of mission-critical communications. When it hits the streets for public safety, we’ll see dramatic and immediate changes.

For example, a sheriff might share a video of an escaping criminal and use predictive solutions to determine where he’s headed, then send squad cars to that site and quickly apprehend him. On another front, firefighters would benefit from a broadband network that pumps data to tablet computers, such as floor plans of burning buildings, to expedite rescues of trapped victims.

But nowhere will the benefits of LTE be more self-evident than in disaster situations. In recent years we’ve seen a rapid increase in the number and severity of both natural and man-made disasters that place enormous strains on first responder networks. These events, which always seem to come out of the blue, have earned the nickname “black swans,” from the title of a best-selling book by mathematician and investor Nassim Taleb. A “black swan,” in this instance, is a random or rare event thought to be highly improbable or even impossible – until it happens. In the public safety arena, examples of black swans are almost too numerous to mention, ranging from acts of God to acts of terror and violence.

Sometimes it takes a black swan to spur action for improvement. The tragic events of 9/11 as well as Hurricane Katrina certainly were the black swans that spurred action for the nationwide LTE network that’s starting to take shape.

But this change to LTE won’t take place all at once or across-the-board in all places, and it also won’t abandon other technologies that have proved their worth in certain areas.

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says that while a public safety broadband network will likely enhance interoperability nd increase data transfer rates, it could take 10 years or more before LTE will be able to accommodate voice capabilities. That means land mobile radio (LMR) will remain the standard for mission-critical voice communications for a while yet. LMR has done a creditable job for years and has made many new improvements in the last decade. It’s gone from analog to digital, and is available as an IP network-based service. APCO P25 has also enabled much-improved interoperability between different LMR systems, provided enhanced functionality and ensured competition through open standards.

Choosing the right model for LTE will also be critical to the network’s success. The fallback position of using legacy, closed, proprietary approaches is still favored by a few, but this is an antiquated notion for mission-critical communications. Instead, we need a model that’s based on the following principles: non-proprietary, open architecture, standards-based, customer-owned (and with customer input on design), and above all, interoperable.

It’s generally agreed that interoperability will be among the greatest challenges in the evolution toward LTE. LMR, P25, LTE and, most likely, different flavors of each will all be in use at the same time because there’s no single technology that fits everybody’s needs. For a nationwide public safety broadband network to be fully effective, we’ll need a layered architecture that’s built to mission-critical specs – and is truly interoperable between locations and technologies.

Facewatch is the latest online development in the law-enforcement v criminals high-tech arms race with cops and robbers adapting new digital techniques to outwit each other.

New technologies present new opportunities for law enforcement agencies to catch and prosecute criminals – from Smartphones that can report themselves stolen to the increasingly sophisticated police use of social media for gathering intelligence, investigating crimes and establishing evidence.

Of course, the same technologies present new opportunities for criminals too who have used a number of online tools to try to avoid detection or target victims.

Facewatch is a  privately operated “National low level crime reporting and image sharing system for businesses”.

It operates as a website and an app, Facewatch id, with versions available for Android, Apple and Blackberry phones.

How it works

Once a business registers with Facewatch, it can upload details of any crimes straight on to the website with details, witness statements and, critically, CCTV evidence and images of any suspects.

There are a number of key components to the scheme:

• Police have full access to all the crime report details.
• Businesses can share images of suspects with either other branches of their company or other local businesses which have joined the same Facewatch group.
• Members of the public can log on to the website or use the app to look at photos of local criminals and see if they recognise anyone.
• Businesses can provide a full package of evidence in a convenient way.

Does it work?

Facewatch is endorsed by the Association of Chief Probation Officers and has testimonials from the Met Police Commissioner, @ngargan_npia and others on its website. It currently works with the Met and Cheshire Police Forces with other forces showing interest.

The main test of its effectiveness will be whether members of the public use the site and app and identify local criminals who they then report to the police.

According to the @Facewatch twitter account, the early signs are promising:

My one area of concern is that it will be important that Facewatch does not duplicate the work of individual forces who are already routinely post similar photos and videos on their websites and Facebook pages.

It will be important to integrate Facewatch and Facewatch Id into local police sites where members of the public are more likely to be browsing.

When I looked at the Cheshire and Met Facebook pages there were still links to CCTV footage and stills on these, rather than a link to the  Facewatch system.

Let’s hope that if Facewatch becomes the national system for sharing images of suspects,  the two systems are integrated.

#ThinkGlobal #ActLocal @CSIWorld

21st Annual Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers Meeting & Training Conference

Crime Stoppers USA are on the map for using social media for community success and safety after great conference April 27, 2012 in Wisconsin.

Making A Difference ~ Generating Success" Was Theme of 21st Annual Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers Inc Meeting & Training Conference in Lake Delton, Wisconsin April 27, 28, 2012

It was an honour to be able to present about social media for success and safety at the Wisconsin Crime Stoppers Conference in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin at Great Wolf Lodge. Some amazing positive outcomes happened for social media for success and safety worldwide to help stop, solve and PREVENT crime together. Themes of “think global” and “act local” were discussed at length with the audience by a number of presenters including Judge Richard Carter and Dave Perlman, Assistant Attorney General Training And Standards Bureau Wisconsin Department of Justice.

A Google Hangout was part of my presentation thanks to the collaborative work of community volunteers Mike Downes in United Kingdom, Jeff Brown in Truro, Nova Scotia, Rob Cairns in Toronto, Canada, and cops Paddy LeGrand and Henk Twit from The Netherlands.

Leah Lechleiter-Luke, Teacher Scott Abrams WI Crime Stoppers President & Chairman Crime Stoppers USA & Crime Stoppers Volunteer Jennifer Jennings Embraced Youth Engagement & Social Media For Success And Safety

We are posting this blog to put all the videos that were streamed today, along with all of the presentations that are available into one link to share with others for the purpose of learning how the Internet and the real time web applies to changing saving lives locally and globally. We hope you enjoy our post and our videos.

If you want to share or repost this information, feel free to do so. We would be honoured.

For more information contact Scott Mills, Social Media Advisor to Crime Stoppers International.
Candle Lighted In Memory of Fallen Heroes


Video streaming by Ustream

“Crime Stoppers 101? With Director of Legal Services Crime Stoppers USA Judge Richard Carter

Legal Issues in Law Enforcement
Dave Perlman, Assistant Attorney General Training & Standards Bureau Wisconsin Department of Justice
Judge Richard Carter (Ret.) Crime Stoppers USA Legal Services Director

TipSoft – How It Works To Protect Anonymity For Crime Stoppers Programs
Troy S. Daniels, Deputy Chief, Champaign Illinois Police Department
Board Member Illinois State Crime Stoppers

Legal Issues In Law Enforcement | Dave Perlman Assistant Attorney General Training And Standards Bureau Wisconsin Department of Justice & Judge Richard Carter Crime Stoppers USA Legal Services Director

Video streaming by Ustream

Imagine opening up a social media platform and reading a post leading you to believe someone may be contemplating suicide – What would you do? This scenario recently landed in the lap of a teenage Colorado girl. It was no accidental discovery though; this young lady is part of a loosely knit group of people who form Compassion Alert on the microblogging website, Tumblr.com.  Tumblr is a site where people can post just about anything, like photos, videos, music, quotes, or basically anything impacting their lives.

Compassion Alert is a group and page formed on Tumblr to assist those contemplating suicide.  “Compassion Alert’s mission is to help Tumbloggers execute ‘reverse cyber-bullying’. We strive to let those who think they are alone know that they are not, with a strong focus on those who are considering suicide.”  The page was created by a 19-year-old young lady named Madden.  The page advises those contemplating suicide to seek professional and public safety assistance, immediately.  But, moreover, the page also acts as a message conduit to notify Compassion Alert’s followers about messages and posts by other Tumblr members, where indications of potential suicide or depression are present.  Messages are categorized by severity and then posted.  Compassion Alert members will acknowledge the post and advise if they can attempt communication with the depressed or suicidal individual. Their presence can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Like other members of Compassion Alert, our Colorado teen was volunteering her time to review and respond to alerts one evening, not too long ago.  She came across an alert that said a teenager had posted a photo and messages on Tumblr talking about committing suicide.  The Colorado girl looked further into the postings and was able to determine the suicidal teen possibly lived in Arcadia, CA.  Concerned for the safety of the suicidal teen, the volunteer called the Arcadia Police Department and reported the posts, asking the police for assistance.

The police dispatcher taking the call was not familiar with Tumblr, other than it was a social media platform.  The dispatcher took the information and sought the advice of a patrol supervisor, who was better versed in Tumblr.  The supervisor was able to cross-reference the possible victim’s information between Tumblr and Facebook, with other departmental resources, and located a friend of the victim. The victim’s friend was able to provide a home address for the victim. Officers went to the victim’s home and with the help of the victim’s parents, appropriate medical and professional assistance was obtained for the teen.

This story is a great example of volunteerism and caring at its best. From Madden taking time to create and monitor Compassion Alert, to the young Colorado teen caring enough to get involved, and to the teamwork displayed by public safety personnel, each individual deserves acknowledgement.  Job well done!  Thankfully, staff was familiar enough with social media to have a positive impact on this incident.  Take note public safety – train your personnel in new technology, terminology, and Internet based platforms used by your community.  Traditional response and investigative means for handling calls for service may not work in the virtual or Internet based society where we now live.

This incident is also an example of how social media can play a role in saving lives.  Many people share personal information about their lives quite openly on various social media platforms.  A good majority of this information can place persons in danger or perhaps cause them to be victimized by outsiders viewing the posts. Thankfully, the outsiders viewing this post and others like it were doing so while looking out for the safety of another.  In this case, social media and volunteerism contributed to quite possibly saving a life.  Great timing for this post since we are acknowledging the work of all volunteers this week as National Volunteer Week 2012.

… or selectively remove old posts from the new Facebook Timeline

Facebook has a new look. It’s called the Timeline and it’s a mandatory change for all profiles and pages.

In a previous social media quick tip, we covered how to add historical information to your agency’s timeline. This week we’ll cover how to remove posts from your Timeline.

We’ve all heard stories about police officers who posted something that got them into trouble or caused embarrassment to the department. If you’ve been on Facebook for a while, there’s a good chance that if you look back through old posts, there might be something there that will gain new scrutiny or compromise your safety or that of fellow officers.

There’s a lot of important information packed into this quick tip. Not only do we cover how to selectively remove or hide old posts. But we also cover how to restrict who can see old posts and comments that were previously viewable only by your friends. What’s quite alarming is that because of the way Facebook has implemented the Timeline, those posts are now viewable to everyone on the planet.

How to Selectively Remove or Hide Old Posts

Hover your cursor on the old post and you’ll see two little boxes appear in the upper right corner of the post. Select the drop-down menu at the pencil icon and you’ll see an opportunity to either hide post or delete post, as you wish.

If the unwanted post wasn’t made by you but it’s on your Timeline because someone else put it there by tagging you, you can remove it from your Timeline by going to the same drop-down menu and selecting remove tag. Similarly, if it’s on your Timeline because you selected like from another website, you can select unlike in the drop-down.

The other little box in the upper right corner has a star in it. If you select that button, it will highlight your post by widening it to appear the entire width of your Timeline.

How to Restrict the Visibility of Past Posts
Previous posts, comments, photos that you previously set to be viewable only by your friends are likely now viewable to the public. To restrict the visibility of all old posts to be viewable only by friends:

1. In the upper-right corner of your page, pull down to privacy settings.
2. Then select limit the audience for past posts.
3. Select limit old posts.

These are important steps to take to maintain officer safety and career survival.

This Social Media QuickTip was previously published on LawOfficer.com