Cops Use Facebook To Bust Prom Goers
The Evidence in the Message
I think I’m okay with this. You?
Here’s the deal. High School kids used Facebook to plan for the prom … and for their after-prom party. Included in their plan: who would bring the booze and who would score the pot. Well, it wasn’t just high school kids watching the social internet interaction. The cops were watch too – and paid the planners a little visit on prom night.
FAIR LAWN — Police in northern New Jersey infiltrated Facebook to learn that students were planning to bring alcohol and drugs to an after-prom party. Police created fake identities to enter the social networking site and found what Fair Lawn High School students were going. Officers stopped the caravan a few miles from the high school and arrested four 17-year-old boys who officers say were carrying marijuana, scales and baggies commonly used to package the drug. via Fair Lawn cops use Facebook to bust after-prom party – NJ.com.
So, on the local news tonight there were sound bites from several high schoolers expressing outrage that the police would “invade our privacy” by reading FaceBook messages. One kid actually said, “Hey, the cops can’t go in and just start reading what we write on MySpace or FaceBook!”
Oh, reeealllly? Wanna bet, kid?
So, were the police right or wrong?
Post Your Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment
T/S Members
Log in with your True/Slant account.
legally I don’t think the kids did anything wrong. But is that really the issue? I wonder how in these days of stretched municipal budgets the good people of Fair Lawn (a town I know well having been raised in Bergen Ct.)feel about paying some cop to spy on their children. I’m willing to be the next town council meeting will be rather heated. Also didn’t you say a couple of days ago you were for legalizing weed?
Yes, a couple of days ago I came out advocating making marijuana legal. What does that have to do with this issue, Brian?
The question here is whether minors should be able to expect their PUBLICLY traded messages, via social networks, should be treated as “private” messages. Is it ok for police to watches these social networks to determine if any citizens are planning to and then carrying out illegal acts? Focus, Brian…………………focus.
In response to another comment. See in context »Oh give me a break Diane, first of all you don’t know they are minors, many HS seniors have reached 18. This is story is a prime example of why so many people hate cops. I’m sure the people of Fair Lawn are sleeping more soundly knowing that their streets are safe from this kid who was scoring some weed for the prom.
In response to another comment. See in context »You need to read more carefully, Brian. Police arrested four 17 year olds
In response to another comment. See in context »Diane,
Does it end with the kids or just begin there.? Are we adults next.? It used to be easy to be a kid.No technology when we were kids and we did alright.! Didn’t we.! I guess like in the case of illegal activity maybe ok but really if their parents allow them on facebook then let the parents parent them.!It’s not that black or white.! How do you know they wont do it to us.?Maybe there are more important crimes to solve.!
Renee
I’m not even ambivalent about this one — yay for the cops, on every level. People, be they 7 or 70, who brag about breaking a law, no matter how inane that law may be, have got to learn that there are consequences. And far more importantly, these kids may learn a very valuable lesson about how very public the internet is — a lesson that may keep them from posting things that would turn off a potential employer or college admissions officer.