Law, order, and the people sworn to uphold both. It sounds maybe like the description for a procedural network television show. Probably it is. It’s also the very real responsibility of thousands of forensic professionals all over the world.
Forensic investigations can take many directions. While there is certainly a major focus on physical evidence, the realities of our ever-increasing digital dependency also require consideration.
How are forensic investigators using social media to do their work? Let’s get into it.
Social Media As a Forensic Tool
The first and most straightforward application of social media within a forensic investigation is to find out what a person has been up to and who they are interacting with virtually.
Often, these investigations have involved crowd-sourcing information and relying on the contributions of “armchair sleuths.” You probably know the sort of person we mean. Those of “true crime,” podcast ilk, who use their free time to think about grisly murders and mysterious disappearances.
Say what you will about them, they’ve already made positive contributions to the world of criminal investigations—particularly in the space where forensic investigation and social media intersect.
A famous and recent occurrence took place in 2021. Van-lifer influencer Gabby Petito became a household name when her parents reported her missing. Previous to this, Petito had been traveling the country with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
The pair were living in a van, documenting their journey across the country.
Maybe because of their small but active following—and not excluding the fact that Petito was young, attractive, and Caucasian—the internet immediately mobilized.
Hundreds of people wrote in, detailing where they had interacted with the couple in the real world. While the majority of tips the police received were undoubtedly incorrect, investigators were able to stitch a cohesive story together from reports.
Eventually, a video of the couple’s van helped investigators locate Petito—unfortunately deceased—only several hundred paces removed from where the footage was filmed. Without this post, it is very possible that she never word have been found at all.
The Tetons, where she was discovered, murdered by her fiancé, are hundreds of miles. People who go missing in this, and other nearby National Parks are often never recovered.
Social Media in Action
The Petito case, though reflective of this article’s topic, is an outlier. The vast majority of criminal investigations do not play out on the national news. Certainly, they don’t generate even a fraction of the attention that this case did. Few cases capture the public imagination in the same way or mobilize large-scale civilian participation.
How is social media useful when armchair sleuths aren’t pouring in contributions by the digital truckload? Pretty smoothly, actually.
Investigators often use social media as a way of learning more about the people involved in a case. Digital footprints reveal patterns and connections that might otherwise remain hidden. It can be used to “walk the cat back,” showing what a person has been up to in the days or weeks leading up to a crime. Posts, photos, and location tags create a timeline that can fill critical gaps in an investigation.
Digital records can indicate where a person was when they made a post. Who they’ve been talking to. What information they have consumed and responded to? Basically, it provides an insight into a person’s thinking.
It can also clarify connections and possibly even explain motivations. Relationships, conflicts, and activities documented online provide context that helps authorities understand the circumstances surrounding a case. Even without viral attention, these digital breadcrumbs offer valuable investigative leads that weren’t available to previous generations of investigators.
Haven’t we all seen online conflict? The majority of tense social media exchanges stay online. After a crime has been committed, however, they gain new relevance.
How Important Is Social Media to Criminal Investigations?
Certainly, social media can be a difference-maker in criminal investigations. That said, it isn’t a perfect science.
For one thing, extrapolating information from online exchanges does not necessarily translate into physical evidence. Two neighbors have been fighting on the neighborhood Facebook group. If one of them is harmed, those social media posts could inform the direction of the investigation. However, if no other evidence exists to support that connection, social media posts won’t be sufficient.
It’s also important to note that there is such thing as too much information. The obsessive detective pouring 12-18 hours of their time every day on their cases is largely a product of crime fiction.
In reality, most investigators are overworked and undersupported. They might appreciate the insights they sometimes attain from social media, but most probably they also find it frustrating.
The average person makes about twenty social media posts per month. A criminal investigation could involve dozens of people. How much time can be devoted to pouring over hundreds—possibly thousands—of posts?
It’s a good tool, but one that can also quickly convolute an investigation.
Who Does Forensic Work?
Forensic work is surprisingly versatile. While police play an important part in the process, they are far from the only ones contributing to the outcome of a criminal case.
Nurses and doctors often make significant contributions to the collection, documentation, and interpretation of physical evidence. When someone arrives at a hospital having been the victim of a violent crime they are often taken to a forensic nurse or doctor. These professionals are not only able to treat the person but they are specially trained to document and collect evidence.
Not only that, but they have been educated in handling the patient with the special level of sensitivity that their case requires.
Even social workers can participate in “forensic” careers. Forensic social workers do their work in situations where criminal behavior intersects with more typical social work scenarios. These intersections are actually very common.
Forensic social workers are there to note criminal behavior and present it to police, or even courtroom proceedings.
For those interested, there are many directions you can take for a career in forensics. Though both mentally and emotionally draining, the work can have a transformative effect on the lives it touches.
About the Author
Ryan Ayers is a researcher and consultant within multiple industries including information technology, blockchain and business development. Always up for a challenge, Ayers enjoys working with startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. When not at work, Ayers loves reading science fiction novels and watching the LA Clippers.
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