It boggles the mind that criminals can be so dumb as to post pictures of themselves and the booty from their crimes on Facebook, Instagram and other social media outlets. Being part of a neighborhood watch program where I live, I know that Facebook is a great tool for police. This article will list a few of the dumbest social media criminals.

A man from Lockport, New York was arrested in 2009 for assault from a bar fight he was involved in. When the man failed to appear for his court hearing, a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, the man had fled the state. The police decided to use the Google search engine to try and find him. It worked. His Facebook and Myspace pages were listed on the search engine. His Facebook page listed his new address, his job and the hours he worked. He also posted his wanted picture from a newspaper back in Lockport, New York. He was soon arrested after that.

A young man from Jenkins, Kentucky posted a picture of himself on his social media page as he was siphoning gas from a Jenkins police car. The picture was soon circulated and the man was arrested and charged with “illegal tanking” and spent the night in county jail. When he was released he posted that he was arrested because of Facebook. I believe he was arrested because he was an idiot.

Another idiot move is when people break into homes and then log onto Facebook or Instagram on the computers of the homes they break into. One young man in Washinton, D.C. broke into the home of a Washington Post reporter and stole four hundred dollars in cash, a laptop, and a winter coat. The criminal then logged onto the reporter’s son’s computer and posted a picture of himself with the stuff he stole. His social media “mugshot” led to his arrest and D.C. police said that this kid was the stupidest criminal they have ever encountered. I’d say.

It isn’t just him though. There are plenty of stories about criminals posting their crimes on the computers of homes they break into. It really does boggle the mind.

This following story boggles the mind as well. A young man who was a wanted sex offender was being protected by his girlfriend. She wanted to protect him so much that she “liked” the local police station’s Facebook page so she could keep an eye on them and their movements. However, she didn’t know that by liking their page and following them, this allows the police to check out her profile and they did just that. They found pictures of her and her wanted boyfriend on her profile and promptly was able to arrest the both of them the next day.

It really is no wonder that police departments use Facebook and other social media outlets to monitor and catch these idiots. Facebook is a great tool for law enforcement. If you commit a crime, keep it to yourself and don’t brag about it. However, the police sure do appreciate it when you do.