Police on the social Web

Law-enforcement people are using the social Web more and more in their work, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. "Most commonly it's detectives in the gang and intelligence units who troll the sites, but … more officers are getting trained because the sites have become so popular - and young people are so frank on them." If a kid has a photo of himself holding a gun, police won't start a file on him, but they'll definitely add what they find online to a file if the person is already the subject of an investigation. They also use the social Web to find out what kids are thinking and talking about in schools and neighborhoods, the News & Observer adds. But police also know that kids can act out online, that what they say and depict is not necessarily true. One officer told the News & Observer that it isn't illegal to pose with a gun "unless you are a convicted felon. Even then, he said, it would be difficult to prove the gun is real," and photos can be altered.