Social media is a tool, trouble for law enforcement

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Social media is a tool and a source of trouble for law enforcement, said two top law enforcement officers.
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said, “I hate social media,” in a talk at the Eunice Kiwanis Club Thursday.
Fontenot would qualify that remark later, but said, “I have problems at work, at the office, and it causes us problems when we have these school bomb threats ... we have parents showing up at the schools because somebody posted on social media.”
The problem with parents showing up at schools is police are busy evacuating students, he said.
“When parents show up it causes total chaos,” he said.
Maj. Eddie Thibodeaux of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, said he loves social media such as Facebook.
“The tips are 63 percent higher because we do Facebook,” he said.
Thibodeaux is the spokesman for Crime Stoppers and Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
A theft occurred recently and the public was informed on Facebook and Crime Stoppers at 5:10 p.m. By 7 p.m. the first of several tips came in for the case, he said.
The suspect showed up at the courthouse the next morning to surrender, he said.
Thibodeaux took over his role as a spokesman about a year and half ago and Facebook likes have grown from 15,000 to 17,400, he said.
Last week a priest was lost and that was posted on Facebook with a resulting 14,000 views and 400 shares, he said.
“That social media was wonderful,” he said.
The priest, who is from Nigeria, was found safe.
Like Fontenot, Thibodeaux said Facebook has its bad sides.
“For every good thing, we are going to find a way to mess it up,” he said.
On another issue, Thibeaux said everyone should make a record of their property with serial numbers to assist in find the property if it is ever stolen. Often people are unable to provide that information when reporting stolen property, he said.
Fontenot said social media moves faster than the word of mouth and that creates problems.
Police find once they are investigating something rumors can be started on social media, he said.
“I have to come back to the office to repair the damage done through social media to get the rumors squashed,” Fontenot said.
On the flip side, social media provided the tips to locate a missing 14-year-old boy last week, he said.