Holywood police fight crime on Facebook
Police in North Down joined the new media revolution in a bid to combat crime in their area and have already tracked down a stolen car using their Facebook fan page.
Since PSNI Holywood signed up to the social networking site, local residents can become of a fan of PSNI Holywood, leave comments about concerns they may have, or even “attend” community police forums with live updates posted from the actual meetings for those unable to be there in person.
And officers say they are also reaping the benefits. Their latest success saw a stolen car retrieved following an online appeal.
Overnight on Sunday, a red Vauxhall Corsa was stolen from outside a house in the Priory End area of Holywood.
After a message about the theft was placed on Facebook, it took just one day for a member of the public who read it to report an abandoned car matching the description.
Police attended the scene in the East Link area and confirmed it was the stolen vehicle.
Inspector Bobby Singleton said: “It’s great to see the positive impact our Facebook page is having within the community and it highlights once again the effectiveness of good neighbourhood policing and interaction between the public and police.
“Through our Facebook site, we can develop contact with people who have a real interest in policing in this area and provide relevant and timely information which helps people stay safe, informed and get involved in helping us solve crimes.”
The stolen car’s recovery is the second time in recent months an appeal on the Facebook site, which already has over 740 fans, has had a positive result. In March, a stolen bicycle was recovered after an appeal was posted on the site.
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