The Importance of Social Media in Criminal Investigation Analysis
As a law enforcement investigator, you know that cracking communication patterns is key to solving cases and catching bad actors. You’ve been doing this for decades, subpoenaing and analyzing call detail records and using court-ordered pen registers and wiretaps on landline and cellular telephones. Now there’s an even larger avenue for interpersonal communications: the Internet.
The revelations that can be brought forward by looking into someone’s online presence, specifically their social media activity, may prove vital.
In order to get a complete picture of an individual’s communication patterns, investigators need to collect and analyze records from all communication channels—and with the right tools and resources, they can expand their investigations beyond traditional tactics.
What's Inside:
- Take a closer look at social media platforms and how valuable they can be in an investigation
- Featured insights from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Social media is integral to child-exploitation investigations. Our cases would be nothing if we weren't able to obtain the contents of subject' or victims' social media accounts.
—Elizabeth Bigham, Special Agent, Georgia Bureau of Investigation