Surveillance photo of Bautista in action
EL CERRITO – Hayward resident, Nariel Bautista, 36, was arrested September 10 by an El Cerrito patrolman who recognized him as a suspected package thief from a video, illustrating how social media is becoming more routinely used for everyday police work.
An patrolman checking on a man in a vehicle on the 1600 block of Arlington Boulevard remembered images from a homeowner’s video camera surveillance system that his department posted on social media. Police normally use social media to gather information from the public, but in this instance it was the same officer who investigated the Aug. 30 theft who recognized the suspect.
Bautista was arrested on two unrelated warrants and booked in the Contra Costa County jail, before a complaint concerning the theft of the package could be obtained from the homeowner for the Contra Costa County’s District Attorney’s office.
El Cerrito posted a YouTube video on Facebook, but other social media such as LinkedIn, NextDoor, and Twitter are also becoming more widely used for all kinds of law enforcement investigations.
Some analysts believe Facebook is less effective than other social media for police working with local communities to generate information from the public because Facebook’s algorithms limit disruption of posts.
According to a LexisNexis study, 73% of police believe social media helps them solve crimes faster. One-third of law enforcement agencies use social media to notify the public of crimes and seek tips for investigations. Few police receive social media training. More than 70% of police who use social for investigations or monitoring criminal activities are self-taught.
