The next friend you make on Facebook could be a man of the law.
Madison police are using Facebook to crack down on campus parties, and may heavily incorporate the website to track gatherings during the Mifflin Street Block Party.
The block party is already a hot topic of discussion around campus, despite the fact that it is scheduled for April 2007. Madison Police Sgt. David McCaw said the police might use the same strategy of deterring parties that was used for Halloween.
The size of Mifflin is comparable to that of Halloween, so students can expect similar methods, according to police.
""The younger people we have hired here are using [Facebook] more and more,"" McCaw said.
On Halloween, police used Facebook searches to find potential parties. However, instead of busting parties, McCaw said, officers notified student planners that they were in the crosshairs of the police in the hopes of getting gatherings canceled.
""Only in Madison do people simply get told [don't have a party],"" McCaw said.
McCaw noted Madison is innovative in its ideas when utilizing Facebook.
""I've got phone calls from the Milwaukee [police department] and somebody in Nevada wanting to do what we're doing,"" he said.
But several students said it does not matter whether they get busted or not, they just do not want police looking them up. UW-Madison junior Lauren Miceli lives on Mifflin Street and said she wishes the cops would leave Facebook out of it.
""Cops need to stop worrying so much about parties and more about all the assaults and muggings on campus,"" Miceli said.
Louise Robbins, a UW-Madison professor involved in the study of internet privacy, said students should not be surprised police are taking advantage of Facebook as a resourceful tool to help deter crime. According to Robbins, students are ""naA_ve"" to think this would not happen, adding that if pictures and personal information are posted there are absolutely no ""expectations of privacy"" on the site.
""Facebook is like walking down State Street naked,"" Robbins said. ""You wouldn't walk down State Street naked, right?""
In addition to Facebook searches, police patrol units will be going door-to-door in the coming months to talk to all the residents on the Mifflin block. McCaw said his patrol unit is going to hand out brochures outlining the possible fines for students.
The brochure says, ""Having a party? Are we invited?"" as well as a list of fines that range from $172 for minor offenses, such as depositing human waste, to $676 per person for dispensing alcohol without a permit.
Miceli said she has had enough of dealing with the police this semester and was not happy about the patrol units' rounds.
""Don't waste my time with brochures,"" Miceli said.
