Turning Facebook followers into crime fighters in South Jersey
They say everyone knows each other in small towns. A South Jersey police department says it has proved that’s also true online.
It began as a routine investigation.
“We had a vehicle burglary, our detectives were able to follow up the burglary,” Evesham Township Police Sergeant Joseph Friel said. “Some of the proceeds stolen were credit cards. As they were able to contact the credit card companies, they were able to determine they were used in a 7-11 store.”
Friel said detectives pulled surveillance video from the store but couldn’t tell who had been caught on camera.
“We posted a picture of the suspect that we could not identify on our Facebook page and we asked for the public’s help in identifying him and we got two tips,” Friel said.
The tips led to a warrant. Police contacted the suspect who turned himself in.
Friel said it wasn’t luck getting those tips. Evesham has 12,000 families and the department’s Facebook page has 10,000 followers.
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