Wisconsin Sheriff’s Departments Turn to Facebook To Nab Criminals

Sheriffs and police departments across Wisconsin are increasingly turning to Facebook as a tool to aid law enforcement. In one central Wisconsin county, the social media site is both alerting the public and generating tips.

In the old “Hawaii Five-O” TV series, Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett often ended each episode with the phrase, “book ’em, Danno.” In Portage County, however, it’s increasingly become “Facebook ’em.”

Chief Deputy Dan Kontos said the social media site is helping the Sheriff’s Office keep the public safe.

“We’re telling them about sex offender releases. We’re telling them about folks that are in the area possibly doing door-to-door scams, or telephone scams. We’re telling them about people that are wanted,” Kontos said.

He said that often leads to tips and sometimes, to offenders turning themselves in.

“It’s been a good number,” he said. “We’re certainly attracting a lot of attention. And some people will actually call up after they see their face on Facebook and say they’d like to settle their warrants.”

Portage County began its Facebook experiment 15 months ago. Kontos said the number of law enforcement departments using the social media site continues to grow, allowing multiple agencies to share information with each other and with the public.

“We have surrounding sheriff’s offices that do this. Marathon County, Adams County, Waupaca County, Wood County, all do this, and a lot of the police departments have jumped on board as well,” he said. “From our perspective, the more the merrier.”

Kontos said that the Portage County Facebook page is administered by volunteers on an ad hoc basis, and isn’t used to handle emergency calls.

Correction: The original version of this story attributed the phrase “book ’em, Danno.” to the character Joe Friday from the TV Series “Dragnet.” The phrase is actually quipped by the character Steve McGarrett from the TV Series “Hawaii Five-O.”