Police forces across England are using Twitter to make an example of lawbreakers who have been rioting for more than a week.
The tweets shows how social media isn’t just being used to organize the riots, it’s being used to lay down the law.
The Greater Manchester Police Department, in particular, has set itself apart from other law enforcement agencies by tweeting the names, birthdays and crimes of at least eight alleged perpetrators. Each of the following tweets have been retweeted more than 100 times.
“Shelley Bishop (born 27/02/1973) of Leopold Street, Rochdale, sentenced to two months suspended for 12 months for drunk and disorderly.”
“Paul Ruane (28/06/1984), of Croyden Drive, Newton Heath, was jailed for eight weeks for handling stolen goods.”
“Ricky Gemmell (born 12/02/1993), of Buckley Road, Manchester, sentenced to four months in youth custody for ranting and swearing at police.”
Other police forces, like London’s Metropolitan Police, have been more subtle with information on arrests. Most of their tweets provide vague information on perps or refer people to the site where they are liveblogging serious police arrests like violent offences, robberies, and weapon possessions.
The Northumbria Police Department’s Twitter feed, on the other hand, posts stolen-item reports, from a child’s motorbike to a lighting conductor.
These tweets show how different areas have been hit by the riots. But it also emphasizes that rioters haven’t been the only ones using Twitter to organize.
In a Thursday speech to Parliament, British Prime Minister Dave Cameron threatened to ban the use of social media applications by those “plotting violence, disorder and criminality.” From a technical standpoint, it’s difficult to imagine how he could selectively ban social media use by different factions within the same geographical area.
More than 1,200 people have been arrested across England following the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in Tottenham Aug. 4, according to the Wall Street Journal. Over the last few days, the riots have spread to Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and Leicester, according to the Guardian.
Photo courtesy of bobaliciouslondon