Police in New Zealand have used social networking website
Facebook to arrest a 21-year-old Queenstown man who attempted to
break into a pub safe containing around NZD 20,000.
The man broke through the ceiling of the Frankton Arms Tavern in
the early hours of Monday morning, and spent almost an hour using
an angle grinder and crowbar attempting - and ultimately failing -
to break into the safe and make a quick getaway with the loot.
He was caught in the act when he foolishly removed his
balaclava during the heat of the moment, before he noticed the CCTV
camera.
Local police, who set up a crime-fighting page on the social
networking site last month, have described the man's capture as the
'first Facebook arrest'.
"With so many people using Facebook for their day-to-day
communications it would be a good idea if all local police forces
could use social networking sites in this way," said Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant at Sophos.
"By generating their own presence on Facebook and spreading
vital crime-fighting information, the authorities in New Zealand
have managed to successfully apprehend a criminal in next-to-no
time with the help of the virtual world. It is a commendable feat
and one which some UK authorities could learn from."