With all due respect, LE has no reason to release their information to the public. Valid investigation involves gathering information and assembling it to make sense of it, not disclosing info that might jeopardize their case or cause the public to create more speculation or rumors. Local LE can request assistance from state and national LE resources if needed.
I think members of the public often fancy themselves as some kind of secret CSI contingent, but really that's just a fantasy from watching crime shows. What police need is an actual lead if someone has seen something, not speculation on what people think may have happened, based on imagination and fiction.
RE: With all due respect, LE has no reason to release their information to the public.
Madeleine74, respectfully, there is every reason to release as much information as possible to the public. An informed and aware public is the most valuable investigative resource available to LEAs in missing persons cases. The public is synonymous to a security camera across the landscape of America.
If their is an active predator in the Horry Co, SC area, transparency is even more important. Predators are recidivist, become more brazen, and will hone their skills with each innocent victim taken.
Without the public's help via communication technology, media management, & internet social sites, many, if not most missing/murdered persons cases would simply grow cold.. as in the past..
The leadership of Law Enforcement organizations that utilize the same silent antiquated investigative strategies today, that they used yesterday, will not be the leaders of tomorrow, imo.
The top law enforcement agency in the world has come to this realization; the FBI. Many high profile cases investigated by the FBI were solved in 2012 due to them reaching out for the assistance of the American public.
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To Catch a Fugitive
New Tools to Find FBI's Most Wanted
02/22/11
For more than 60 years, the FBI has created posters to enlist the public's help in capturing fugitives or finding missing persons. Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph, CIA shooter Mir Aimal Kansi, World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef—the captured fugitives were all on FBI wanted posters distributed and shared around the world.
Now, thanks to a recent redesign of the FBI.gov Most Wanted section, the public has more tools to help us close cases of suspected murderers, terrorists, bank robbers, and kidnapped and missing individuals.
“Tips and leads from the public are crucial in fugitive investigations,” said Special Agent Bradley Bryant, who works with local law enforcement agencies on cold cases through our FBI Violent Crime Apprehension Program, or ViCAP..
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http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/january/social_010710/our-newest-social-media-initiatives
The Portable FBI
Our Newest Social Media Initiatives
01/08/10
A free mobile phone application featuring FBI updates has been downloaded more than 670,000 times in more than 70 countries since last February.
More than 35 million people visited the FBI website last year, but many of you prefer your own corners of the Internet, whether it's a personal webpage, blog, networking site, or some other space.
That's why in recent years we’ve worked to bring our information to where you are in the online world. We've built a series of widgets that let you host our news, fugitives, missing kids, and other content on your website or blog.
We’ve laid down roots on popular social media sites—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and iTunes—and started generating dynamic news feeds that can be plugged into and read through various applications, readers, and webpages. And we've launched an e-mail alert service that now has nearly 150,000 subscribers, bringing our latest information right to your inbox or wireless device.
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