Who's Big On Twitter?

Crips, Bloods ... and the Right, I guess!

Use of Twitter, Facebook rising among gang members

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant.

They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst.

Unbeknownst to them, that tweet and the traffic it generated were being closely followed by investigators, who had been tracking the San Francisco Bay Area gang for months. Officials sat back and watched as others joined the conversation and left behind incriminating information.

Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations.

Comments

[Jeff]

Isn't that like spying on Americans ? Where is the ACLU ? Those gang members should at least have as many rights as terrorists ...

[Anon]

Jeff, I'm all for giving gang members the same right to be Twits and Tweet on Twitter as for terrorists. I'm also for terrorists making more use of that same right...