Arts: Wanted on Pinterest: Mug Shot Page Leads to Arrests

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Behold Wanted on Pinterest: Mug Shot Page Leads to Arrests By Alyssa Coppelman Posted Tuesday, Oct 16, 2012, at 12:19 PM ET The Pottstown Mercury, a local Pennsylvania  newspaper, has come up with a simple, but effective way to use social networking to fight crime. A few months ago, Brandie Kessler, a reporter for the Mercury, set up a Pinterest board called Wanted by Police. It consists of a continuously updated roster of mug shots of wanted individuals in the Pottstown area along with a description of the crimes they are charged with. Within a few short months, tips generated through the board have led to a dramatic increase in the apprehension of suspects in this borough outside Philadelphia. Kessler wrote in September that local police estimate a 58 percent increase in the number of arrests since the Pinterest site went up in July. (It's worth noting that this is a borough of just 22,000 people, so a few arrests could make a huge difference. But still that is an impressive number.) Kessler says she had previously created a slideshow of people with warrants out for their arrest on the newspaper's website, but because it didn't operate smoothly and was difficult to share on Facebook and Twitter, it wasn't nearly as popular. As of Monday night, Wanted by Police had 881 followers on a board featuring 59 mug shots. The comments run the gamut. Some are personal: Others are more straightforward: Many lead nowhere, but a precious few have helped with arrests. The Pottstown police cited the case of a woman facing burglary charges, who had eluded ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Wisconsin at War Her Year of Living Biblically What Does Giant Panda Taste Like?	Advertisement
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