纽约成立社交网络警察部门

The New York Police Department announced it will form a new unit to search social media as part of its law enforcement efforts, responding to the criminals’ growing use of these sites to plan and celebrate illegal exploits.

Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor is in charge of an NYPD unit created specifically to comb social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and BlackBerry messenger for information on planned crimes and their perpetrators.

Law enforcement has linked social media to increasing incidents of flash robs in the US and the recent looting and rioting in London. Public safety agencies are consequently looking to step up their game in order to better protect citizens against these trends.

In the London riots in particular, law enforcement suspects the looters relied heavily on BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to coordinate and plan their riotous spree. Police there are working with BBM maker Research In Motion to decipher the messages and identify those responsible for burning and pillaging London stores.

The mobility, economy and encryption BBM and other smartphone messaging services provide make it hard for law enforcement to anticipate criminal activity, especially if they aren’t as familiar with this technology as are the offenders. The NYPD unit intends to educate officers about such technology to improve this handicap.

For social media providers and smartphone makers, the criminal element’s preference for their products is putting them in the sticky position of determining how to assist law enforcement without betraying lawful customers’ privacy.

In addition to sniffing out the first signs of a troublesome house party, flash robs, gang clashes, and other mayhem, the NYPD’s unit will scour sites for evidence of already-committed crimes. Many youthful offenders post information, pictures and videos of their criminal misdeeds on social media sites after the fact, either not knowing or not caring how that information can be used against them.

Also, disputes that begin on Facebook, Twitter or via text messaging sometimes end up in a real-world crime, and social media can provide evidence of ongoing family feuds and other disagreements. That was the case this past spring in New York, when those investigating a stabbing between two friends found evidence they had previously argued on Facebook over $20 in diapers.

The new unit will operate under the Community Affairs Bureau and also coordinate several of the city’s outreach programs.

随着社交媒体的流行，犯罪者以此来策划或庆祝非法活动的情况也日趋多见。纽约警察局近日宣布，为更有效执法，将新成立一个社交网络警察部门，在社交媒体上搜索犯罪信息。

该部门专职在脸谱、推特、黑莓信使等社交媒体上搜寻关于有计划犯罪及其罪犯的信息，负责人是助理专员凯文•奥康纳。

美国境内暴力事件日趋多发，伦敦近日还暴发了骚乱，执法部门认为这与社交媒体密不可分。因此，公共安全部门正加强措施，保护公民免受暴乱潮的伤害。

尤其在伦敦骚乱事件中，执法部门怀疑抢掠者们大力仰仗黑莓信使来协调和策划骚乱行为。当地警方与黑莓信使生产商动态研究公司合作，解密信息，找出那些在伦敦烧抢商店的罪犯。

黑莓信使和其它智能手机通讯服务的移动性、经济性和加密性，使得警方执法时更难预料犯罪行为，尤其是当他们不如罪犯熟悉这一科技时更是如此。新成立的社交网络警察部门将帮助警员们熟知这种通讯技术，克服这一障碍。

对于社交媒体提供商和智能手机制造商来说，犯罪分子对其产品的偏爱将他们陷入了两难的境地，如何能在协助执法的同时又不背叛合法顾客的隐私权？

除了要尽快发现麻烦不断的家庭聚会、抢劫、帮派冲突和其它暴行外，社交网络警察还要在社交网站上搜寻已知罪行的证据。很多年轻罪犯在肇事后将犯罪信息、照片、视频等上传到社交网站上，而这些恰恰成为了罪证，他们却浑然不知或者毫不在乎。

同时，始于脸谱、推特或短信的分歧有时也会挑起事端，社交媒体可以为正在发生的家庭不和、和其它纷争提供证据。今年春天，纽约警方在调查一起发生在两位朋友间的刺杀案件时发现，两人曾在脸谱网站上为了20美元的尿布发生过口角。

这一新部门将受社区事务部领导，并将协调纽约市其它一些拓展项目。