Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2014 | Page 51

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY

in the investigation progress. On the fourth day after the riot, the
Vancouver Police department released statistics that provided insight
as to just how much help the agency received from the public. Within
a four day span, the community sent approximately 3,500 e-mails to
the Vancouver Police Department (“Riot Investigation – Fact Sheet”).
The department noted 676 of the e-mails contained hyperlinks to
YouTube videos and 1,011 provided links to social media networks,
with most hyperlinks from Facebook (“Riot Investigation – Fact
Sheet”). The department reported twelve suspects voluntarily reported
to the Vancouver Police and three other persons to other jurisdictions
(“Riot Investigation – Fact Sheet”). The information received from
the public is still being used two years after the investigation. The
police reported in June 2013 that ten more rioters were charged with
crimes, bringing the total number of rioters charged to 325 (“Riot
Investigation Update”). While not every rioter was arrested and
charged through the assistance of the social media community, the
ample amount of social media evidence received by the department
was undoubtedly a factor in the arrest of many rioters. The Vancouver
Police Department, in an effort to assist with the identification of rioters, even created a website listing the top “most wanted” rioters in June
2012 (Riot Investigation Update). By the next year, law enforcement
was able to identify seven of the rioters on the list through the public
and the website (“Riot Investigation Update”).

Police Department continues to refine and modify its social media
outreach processes.
The United States is not the only country having success with community outreach through social media. In 2011, Canada explored and
exploited this tool. During the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup, a riot
broke out in Canada. When the game officially ended, thousands of
fans began to riot in the streets. There were reports of people breaking
windows, causing fires, flipping over vehicles, and looting numerous
establishments (Schneider & Trottier, 58). People were injured in
the riots due to stabbing incidents. Vancouver riot police expended
several hours dispersing and arresting the rioters. The chaotic nature
of the riot resulted in the police being unable to take every criminal
into custody (Schneider & Trottier, 58-59). Therefore, the Vancouver
police requested public assistance through social media to locate missing suspects involved in criminal activities during the time of the riot.
Millions of people all over the world were watching the ɥ