Social Media and Law

Caught on Camera: The Impact of Recorded Police Brutality

The rise in smartphones and social media has given people a chance to share videos, pictures, and opinions with anyone online. This platform for sharing has had positive outcomes (e.g. cute cat videos), but it has also portrayed serious issues in our society. In particular, an increase of videos of police interactions has portrayed several cases of police brutality. These videos have shed light on police misconduct, but is it distorting people’s perception of police officers as a whole?

Police officers are concerned that the spread of police brutality videos online will shed a negative light on law enforcement as a unit. Police officers have called this the “Youtube effect” because of how rapidly these videos spread on social media sites and it is affecting how police officers do their jobs. According to Sgt. Andrew Romero, chairman of the Austin Police Association’s Political Action Committee, the distribution of these controversial videos without context fuels dislike for police departments and “it affects recruiting, retention and morale.” This was especially evident after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. The video of the interaction between officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown ignited an already tense division in our country.

After the shooting, President Obama stated that the footage spoke to a deeper issue, which was the “deep distrust that exists between law enforcement and communities of color.” This mistrust was clearly portrayed in survey responses shortly after the Ferguson shooting, where an overwhelming majority of black people (70%) said that police departments were doing poorly at holding officers accountable for misconduct and at treating racial groups equally. Also, 57 percent of African Americans believed that police departments “do a poor job of using the right amount of force.” These statistics provided a clear indicator of the impact of the “Youtube effect” on individual’s perception of police officers.

Since that incident, there have been several other recorded instances of police brutality that have placed law enforcement as a whole under scrutiny. In some ways, it is reasonable to be upset at police departments about these clear cases of police misconduct. However, is it fair to base our perception of all police officers on these incidences? That depends on who you ask. Some people may honestly believe that these videos are a representation how most or all police officers perceive African Americans, especially because these videos never seem to warrant an arrest or indictment.

Widespread footage of police brutality, whether on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter has provided a way for the public to see clear injustices happening in our country. However, it has also given police departments a bad name in the process. I believe that generalizing an entire group is never helpful for solving a larger issue, so I do think there are “good” police officers everywhere. I also believe that action needs to be taken to train officers on implicit bias and appropriate use of force. These videos can be used to teach officers what not to do when in a confrontational setting. One police officer’s incorrect and biased perceptions should not cost an innocent person’s life.

Online Community Policing: The Good, The Bad & The Potentially Ugly

Social media has revolutionized how law enforcement solves crimes. How does this happen? Social media allows regular citizens to be actively engaged in helping police officers track down criminals. The idea of using social media to connect law enforcement and everyday citizens stems from the idea of “community oriented policing.” According to Timothy Roufa, community oriented policing “brings police professionals, government officials and community and neighborhood leaders together to identify and evaluate problems within the community and work together to solve them.” Community policing has provided a platform for police officers to build relationships with the people in their community while simultaneously fighting crime.

In recent years, the idea of community policing expanded to include social media. Law enforcement has been using social media sites to convey and gather information about criminal activity happening in different communities. A report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) estimated that 40% of police agencies in the U.S. are using sites like Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter to find suspects. The president of IACP, Mark Marshall, stated that online community policing “allows law enforcement to humanize their work and their officers…” by engaging with citizens on the social media platforms they use on a regular basis. Typically, this type of community policing is used in smaller communities for petty crimes or missing persons cases. However, it is spreading to more public emergency situations.

A large-scale version of this collaboration between law enforcement and the public was evident in The Thread, a documentary detailing the investigation of the Boston Marathon bomber. The captivating part about this bomber investigation was that regular people were actively engaged in the process through social media. The platform used was Reddit, an anonymous site where users can upload videos, pictures, and links about a variety of topics. The documentary demonstrated how communities can interact with law enforcement and create change. People were able to provide tips to officers by analyzing photos and videos from the day of the explosion. This widespread online community policing eventually to led to the finding of one of the suspects.

The Boston Marathon bomber hunt also portrayed the darker side of online community policing. The documentary showcased the extremes people would go to in order to find the suspect. The initial search for the bombers turned into an angry manhunt for individuals looking for revenge. The Reddit site also became a platform for people to voice their prejudiced opinions, which often led to biased views about who the suspects were. Unfortunately, these biases caused police officers to seek out the wrong person.

The Boston Marathon bomber investigation showcased the positive and negative aspects of online community policing. In some ways, this is an excellent way for communities to assist law enforcement in solving crime and to build trust between the two groups. However, leaving people to their own investigations online could potentially create serious mistakes. So, should citizens be so connected to criminal investigations or is online community policing a harmful risk? Well, that’s up to you to decide.

Performance Crimes: The Need to be Seen

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The Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Isla Vista mass shootings all shared a common theme: the killers uploaded videos on social media sites prior to the killing sprees. The Isla Vista shooter uploaded youtube videos prior to the murders to provide justifications for why he should commit murder. The Columbine shooters uploaded “basement tapes” leading up the massacre where they discussed their attack plan and hoped that the world would view these videos. Lastly, the Virginia Tech shooter mailed a letter to NBC News studio just before going on his killing spree. Inside the package was what NBC anchor Brian Williams described as a “multi-media manifesto” filled with videos and photo diaries of the killer.

These pre killing spree postings on social media are called “performance crimes” in which the person in the posts willingly exposes their crimes to the world. Performance crimes are relatively new because usually criminals keep their plans and reasoning private; So, the question becomes: what drove these criminals to share their attack plans online?

According to an article by Ray Surette, performance crimes are linked to the rise of the celebrity culture.The emergence of the celebrity culture meant that celebrities became an important part of our society and becoming a celebrity was a goal for many people. Criminals feed off this celebrity culture by posting pre and post crime videos online. The possible reasoning behind this is that being known in this celebrity culture is better than being unknown, even if that includes criminal activity.

The Person Behind the Screen

This need to be seen combined with irrational viewpoints about the world could be the reason why these mass shooters posted video diaries online prior to their killing sprees. I believe that these shooters had similar mindsets, which was that people did not understand them and that they were not seen by their peers. They used social media as a platform to portray their point of view and demand that people listen to them. This demonstrates the power social media holds in our society, and its implications for people’s behavior.

There are two ideas to conclude about the rise of performance crimes. First, performance crimes provide a gateway for law enforcement to locate potentially harmful individuals before tragedies like mass shootings occur. The second, and more important point is that social media has become a platform for individuals who may be struggling with mental illness to express themselves. Law enforcement and mental health professionals can use this social media influence to find and help these individuals before they act on their own irrational ideas. As social media users, we should also pay attention to what people post online and take action if needed. We never know whose life we may be saving.

Tricked: How Traffickers Are Using Social Media To Lure Victims

In 2012, Marquist Piere Bradford was arrested for sex trafficking of minor girls. Bradford used Facebook to find and communicate with his first victim, a 15-year old girl. After a few weeks, he sent her a bus ticket and convinced her to meet him. Bradford advertised the victim on several escort service pages and trafficked her for two weeks. Bradford continued to recruit and communicate with other victims through Facebook after trafficking the first victim. Bradford has been branded the “Twitter Pimp” because he would brag about his trafficking business on Twitter. This is just one of many cases where traffickers and pimps used social media to lure and advertise victims.

When people hear the words “human trafficking” they might visualize someone watching people walking alone at night, waiting for the most vulnerable one to pass by to lure in. While there are instances when someone searches for victims in person, traffickers are becoming more sophisticated in how they attract possible victims. With social media becoming prominent in our society, it is easier for pimps and traffickers to manipulate social media sites for their own gain. The broad definition of sex trafficking also allows traffickers to use these social media sites and escape federal prosecution. For example, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, sex trafficking is “the use of force, fraud, or coercion to lure victims and force them into sexual exploitation.” However, this definition does not include the use of the Internet or social media as a form of luring victims. This provides a loophole for traffickers to find victims without fear of being caught.

Craigslist has been a primary source for traffickers to find victims. According to an article in the New York Times, sex ads on Craigslist brought in $36 million in revenue in 2010. Under pressure from the Department of Justice, Craigslist has been forced to shut down its “Adult Services” page. However, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Backpage is now becoming the dominant page for traffickers to advertise their victims because of its convenient and inexpensive platform. Backpage also allows traffickers to remain mostly anonymous, which makes it difficult for traffickers and pimps to be apprehended.

A recent innovation called the Spotlight Tool could be the beginning of technological advances in online trafficking investigations. The Spotlight Tool is used to combine information from online commercial sex advertisements. This technology has allowed law enforcement to shorten their investigation time by 43%. While tools like this are useful, we also need the ears and eyes of millions of people who are online everyday. It is important to educate the general public about sex trafficking online so they are more aware and more likely to report suspicious activity online. Education can be a crucial step in ending online sex trafficking.