Social media helps solve crimes

Tips to the Missoula County Sheriff's Department have increased by 50 percent through the use of Facebook and Twitter, said Jason Johnson, the department's public information officer.

Johnson was a detective recruited by Sheriff Carl Ibsen to become the public's liaison and create the department's Facebook and Twitter pages, which launched in July. His experience volunteering in the community and giving speeches for the department made him an ideal spokesperson, Johnson said.

"One of (Ibsen's) goals was to make the department more user-friendly," Johnson said.

Before the Facebook and Twitter accounts were created, the website used by the sheriff's department was "stagnant," Johnson said, and cases were going unresolved. But when the "Can You ID Me" posts on Facebook started, tips increased exponentially.

"(Facebook) is kind of a ready-made audience," Johnson said. "It's obviously very beneficial."

As of Tuesday, the sheriff's page had 585 "likes."

Working in tandem with the sheriff's department is the Five Valley Crimestoppers, which serves Missoula, Ravalli and Mineral counties. Keith Koprivica, board chairman of the organization, said the Crimestoppers Facebook and Twitter pages were created about two years ago, though they've been used more actively in the last six months to improve public communication. Korivica said the organization has seen about twice the amount of tips in that same amount of time, and gained several followers on Facebook.

"We gained about eight or 10 followers last week," he said.

The page had 112 "likes" as of Tuesday.

The goal of the social media pages was to get more information out to more people, and Facebook provided a way to get the word out, Koprivica said. He said smartphones help disseminate information even faster.

"It's instantaneous," he said. "That information is at their fingertips."

Koprivica said most older residents of Missoula already know about Crimestoppers, and the social media websites distribute information younger residents and college students may not know. Younger generations aren't specifically targeted by Crimestoppers, but involving them can only help, Koprivica said.

"I think that's the future of any organization: young people," he said.

Johnson said he posted a notice of a burglary on the sheriff department's Facebook page, and received calls much quicker than if the notice had been on the department's web page or the evening news.

"Within an hour, I got a phone call," Johnson said.

Though the caller didn't have a tip and was just looking for more information, Facebook helped achieve the goal of getting information out quickly, he said.

Crimestoppers takes tips from callers who remain anonymous, and offers rewards of up to $1,000 if the information provided leads to solving a crime. However, tips are not accepted via Facebook or Twitter.

"It'll be a while before we take tips online," Koprivica said, though it is an eventual goal for the organization.

The most beneficial aspect of Facebook, Koprivica said, was the rejuvenation of the "Crime of the Week" program. It began when Crimestoppers came to the area 30 years ago, but faded into the background quickly. Like the sheriff's website, the Crimestoppers website was losing appeal and effectiveness among visitors. Facebook provided a medium that circulated the crime of the week to many more people.

"The more tips we can get, the more crimes we can solve," Koprivica said.

paige.huntoon@umontana.edu