Social network helps police to fight crime

Facebook is helping Greater Manchester Police fight crime and more than 25,300 computer users have signed up to receive regular updates in the last year.

The Facebook application can be installed on users’ profiles and provides information about local news, appeals, missing persons and videos. Developed by the Force’s web team, it also helps users to send information to the police, and help bring offenders to justice.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: “We’re keen to keep residents in Greater Manchester updated on what’s happening in their local area and Facebook is a great way to reach out to people on a more informal, personal basis.

“It’s really encouraging that so many people are keeping themselves updated through our Facebook application and demonstrates how we have managed to use this new technology as another tool to communicate with the public to help fight and detect crime. We hope that the figures of people accepting this application will keep going up so we raise further awareness of incidents taking place within our local communities, in a bid to gain more intelligence and reduce crime in Greater Manchester.”

The application can be shared among Facebook users’ friends. But it can also be added directly from http://apps.facebook.com/gmpupdates