Facebook and the company's multiple apps have become a digital ecosystem that is critical to law enforcement investigations. Multiple feature changes, to include recent changes to privacy policies, have limited past methods to traditional police work on Facebook.

With billions of people around the world using Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp; social media continues to drive popular culture. Online stories have given individuals involved in officer interactions the power to control the stories that are quickly picked up by the 24/7 media. Criminals, seeking likes and notoriety, are still posting their crimes on these social media sites. Drug sales have moved on to Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

This course will provide the tools needed to continue using these sites in your investigation.

Course Topics:

• The basics of Facebook
• Advanced searching for individuals in Facebook
• How to find criminal Facebook Groups
• Fraud schemes committed through Facebook
• How to overcome private profiles
• Instagram Basics
• Instagram tools for investigations
• Subpoenas and Search Warrants
• Facebook interaction with law enforcement
• How to avoid the pitfalls of fake profiles
• Personal security on Facebook and Instagram

Students will receive course material, legal boilerplates, and Facebook/Instagram law enforcement guides.