<p>The Hanover Police department acknowledged their use of Facebook.com as a tool for tracking down suspected lawbreakers in the undergraduate student body.</p>
<p>This admission confirms many students’ fears that personal information on the Facebook, a popular online social network, can be used as evidence against them.</p>
<p>“We maintain a collection of Facebooks,” Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said, adding that the Facebook was “a part of an assortment of investigative tools” used by the Police Department to catch lawbreakers.</p>
<p>Giaccone explained that the Hanover Police purchases e-mail accounts from the College for the purpose of creating Facebook profiles. </p>
<p>“We try to build a composite of a suspect and the Facebook is one of many tools used in creating that composite,” he said</p>
<p>Giaccone said Hanover Police had compared camera stills of lawbreakers committing a crime to pictures found on the Facebook in order to catch suspects.</p>
<p>When asked if Hanover Police use affiliations with controversial Facebook groups such as “I Pre-Game For Everything,” “Marijuana Legalization League” and others to track down suspects, Giaccone said that he was currently “unaware of that function,” adding that he might now look into these groups</p>
<p>What I found interesting about that article is its in one town. Wonder if its the same guys and if the girls are friends. </p>
<p>And, while I hope they catch the men, it would be really suprising that that many girls were that stupid and that that many parents were clueless and that it happened that often</p>
<p>No, they couldn’t convict based on a picture. On the other hand a facebook entry that talks about an upcoming keg party could be used to bust up the party. Or as the article states, they use it as a tool to compare photographs and locate suspects in crimes that have already been committed. The law is saying that once you put something out there in the public eye, it may well be used against you. The mistake the kids make is in thinking that these are their private diaries or journals.</p>
<p>Not only that, but if police busted every kid who had pictures of themselves with alcohol/weed or every kid who was in some drinking/smoking group, they’d be busting a huge percentage of most colleges - it would NEVER happen, at least not without some sort of draconian police dept (which do exist; one dept in Va went so far as to GO INTO BARS and forciby breathalize people (which is illegal search, and if you’re not driving you have no incentive to coply with such search), who not incidentally were ALL 21+ (many in their 30s or 40s) and arresting those with a BAC over .08 as violating public intoxication statutes).</p>
<p>"A campus-wide investigation into illegal drug use in early January resulted in three male sophomore students being asked to take time off from Williams, the Record has learned. Dozens of others, some suspected of dealing marijuana, others of using, were called in to Campus Safety and Security to be questioned. …</p>
<p>“The investigation also involved, but was not limited to, inquiries on the Facebook.com, a popular Web site used by many students at Williams. According to student sources, the members of two Facebook groups in particular, Puff, Puff, Pass and Phyllis Chandler Bong were questioned about their extracurricular activities.”</p>
<p>I just forwarded the link to my D. I have not seen her Facebook profile recently but I hope that she takes a good hard look at it. It could all be sweetness and light - but in the name of college humor, who knows?</p>
<p>I have heard of prospective employers searching for information through The Facebook, online journals and blogs but this is a new one for me. As more of these stories are reported I would think that many students will edit the more outrageous (and more than likely tongue-in-cheek) commentary, club listings and photos online. A number of my daughter’s friends have received cautionary e-mails about The Facebook and blogs from their respective colleges.</p>
<p>The story of the girl who rushed the field at Dartmouth and was questioned about it three weeks later was interesting. She was wearing a mask and sweatshirt, which she later removed before returning to the game. She says that she made no reference to the incident on her own Facebook profile, but that the police readily admitted they were on to her as a result of Facebook. This backs up what I have been saying - that a friend’s site may not be as blocked or private as your own. They may name you by name, show photos of you etc. So it’s not just what is in your own profile that can put you at risk.</p>
<p>Facebook/MySpace or anywhere on the Internet for people to see and read… Not a good idea to leave snarky pictures and comments that future employers or law enforcement officials can access.</p>
<p>Hmm, it appears that in this case they did convict based on pictures. Or they could have used the photos as a lead in to questioning witnesses that would corroborate the photos. Either way…</p>
<p>michuncle - That is a very interesting story. That judge is a jerk. Every year he goes to the HS and preaches “don’t drink” and he is surprised that somehow his message isn’t getting through? I think kids understand the concept of “don’t drink and drive.” They might even get the idea that downing a bottle of vodka in 25 minutes can be fatal. But convincing kids that having a sip of Southern Comfort in the back of a limo is a capital offense will be futile, and will brand you as a hypocrite and pretty much lose whatever legitimate message you might have.</p>
<p>UMDAD…as someone who lives in VT (which is about the same as Hanvover, NH, and actually when I first moved to VT, I lived in the area near Hanover 25 years ago), we have very little serious crime. In fact, when I go visit metropolitan areas, I forget the huge contrast but as soon as I see the local news on TV or in the paper and it is filled with one crime after another, it is a HUGE difference. Here, a crime would be MAJOR news. So, yes, it is pristine. In fact, I think people get so used to how “safe” it is…and are silly…they leave their keys in the car with the car running at the general store, sometimes with their kids in it! and don’t lock their homes. However, there is crime everywhere. It just is rarer here. But two Dartmouth professors were murdered several years ago by two teenagers from VT, randomly, I might add…at their home. Yes, living up here is a lifestyle that is not riddled with crime…way safer in lotsa respects but even so, crime still happens.</p>
<p>A Dartmouth student reported to Hanover Police that he had purchased an engagement ring on eBay earlier in the month but had not yet received the ring. The student’s check for $1,385.50 cleared on Jan. 12. Police are investigating the situation</p>
<p>Jan. 30, Connecticut River, 11:47 a.m.</p>
<p>A woman was walking in the Pine Park area with her two dogs by the Connecticut River, when one of the dogs went onto the frozen river and fell through the ice. The woman called a friend in Hanover, who relayed the message to Hanover Police. When police received word of the situation, Giaccone went ahead to the scene while other officers retrieved a ladder from the fire department. </p>
<p>Jan. 28, Lyme Road, 10:21 a.m.
An 89-year-old woman living in the Kendal retirement community called Hanover Police to report that her 1997 white Subaru Impreza had been smashed and its hood pried open. Police arrived at the scene to find that the vehicle had not in fact incurred any damage. Officers learned that the woman had not driven her car recently and, as a result, the Subaru would not start. The elderly woman had merely assumed that vandalism had caused her car’s troubles since she had heard that someone had broken into the car next to hers and stolen 35 cents.</p>
<p>I have to say, I was hugely amused to see the Dartmouth College police–not Hanover PD, but Dartmouth College security–carrying the same Glocks that the University of Pennsylvania campus police started carrying a few years ago (long overdue). Stray moose, bear, etc. make Hanover a tough town. :)</p>
<p>facebook is public information, the cops and everyone else has a right to that. if you get caught through it, you’re an idiot. as for indentifying pictures, facebook isn’t the only place where there are published headshots. try a high school yearbook, for instance.</p>
<p>i disagree with using groups for profiling, however. I have 1st ammendmant rights to support legalization of marijuana, and it doesn’t make me a criminal.</p>
<p>There was a big brouhaha earlier in the year…some freshmen posted pictures of themselves drinking (how stupid can you be?) on Facebook, and an RA reported them. </p>