Face-Booked: The Role of Social Media in Wildlife Law Enforcement

Social media has become an increasingly valuable and resourceful tool for Law Enforcement agencies and personnel to better enforce and educate the public about local, state, and national laws. Recent surveys indicate that 81% of Law Enforcement professionals use social media as part of their investigations and that 25% use it daily. As natural resource users are more frequently posting their experiences to social media, law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting those resources must utilize the same venues to be effective in accomplishing their mission. The roles of social media in Law Enforcement range from identify crimes and conducting investigations to educating the public and deterring future crimes.