Social Media During The Boston Marathon Bombing

The realm of social media has taken the world by storms. Every aspect of life has now become a sharable experience or a trending moment. There are many benefits and loses that come with the world of constant information; however, one area that seems to hold more potential is that of crime investigations. Social media has allowed for the quicker discovery of criminal acts throughout the world. Criminals are more easily uncovered and punished due to the immediate availability of the event to the general public over many different social media forums. Large events such as the Boston Marathon bombing, to small town crimes, proves that social media has been depicted as an important tool to law enforcement. Through the exploration of social media’s

For instance, the Boston Marathon attack of 2014 was a devastating crisis against the citizens of Boston, as well as the United States. The confusion of the bomb and immediate need for medical response, left authorities in the dark, unaware as to where to start the investigation. Since the bombing took place during the Boston Marathon, with thousands of participants and observers, not only spectating, but also video taping the race. Police were able to crowd-source for help in identifying any suspicious action caught on tape prior to the bombs going off. By asking the public to provide any imagery from the incident the police were able to gain photographic evidence of the culprits. “Within days, local police and federal agents received thousands of images and many terabytes of digital data captured on smartphone devices and other mobile device.” (Arindell & Lyster 2013) It is evident that crowdsourcing to solve crimes that involve large numbers of victims and bystanders is an efficient, new form of crime fighting. This application can be used for small cases as well. Take for instance a case from New York about a mother being attacked in the Brooklyn subway station. Video surveillance caught a image of the perpetrator, which was released to the public for aids in identification. Shortly after, a match to the attackers Facebook page was discovered. Other efforts of

For instance, when police post a sketch or photograph of a suspected criminal over the news or internet, many citizens become outraged over the crime and believe it is now their job to take mattes into their own hands. Thus the emergences of the digital vigilante. One example of these digital vigilantes is a group called Anonymous. This group of internet hackers, claim to be able to solve crimes faster than the law enforcement. In the case of Rehteah Parson, a teen that tried to commit suicide, which landed her on life-support, resulting in the life-support plug being pulled three days later, Anonymous decided it was their job to take matter into their own hand. Rehteah’s decision to commit suicide was due to a prior rape at a party, and continuous bullying following the event. Her parent soon lost trust in the police force when they discovered the boys accused of the rape were going to be set free, and sought out help from the media. Anonymous threaten police to take action against the four boys that the police announced would be released. Within days Anonymous was able to identify all four boys and threatened exposure if justice was not granted to the Parson’s family. This is a prime example of the public taking matter into their own hands to solve crimes they feel the law enforcement is incapable of doing so themselves. Seemingly one would assume that digital vigilantism is a