Who would’ve guessed that Facebook, the time-stealing, secret-revealing social forum would ever be more than a place to share funny videos of crazy cats and post pics of your latest meal? A recent infographic put together by the Criminal Justice Degrees Guide shows 20 crimes that Facebook assisted or helped to solve.

As much as criminals are becoming ever more tech-savvy, so are their law-enforcing counterparts. As so many people have painfully discovered, once some thing’s been put on the internet it’s forever, and that’s exactly how police around the world are using the web to their advantage.

In the UK alone police have reported a 540% increase in Facebook crimes over the past three years. Granted, the increase is partly due to the social site’s growing influence, but it’s still a massive increase. Over the past five years more the 100 000 crimes have been linked to Facebook, and more and more police are turning to the site to aid them in their investigations.

It’s not just the boys in blue putting in the hard work, members of the social site are also doing their part. In one standout example, Sheriff Al Lamberti arrested criminals who had stolen air conditioners in Florida after he posted pictures of the suspects on Facebook and received a tip.

In many cases though, the criminals only have themselves to blame after they post photos or videos of evidence or status updates relating to the crimes. Silly criminals, don’t you know any better?

[Source: Mashable]