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Evesham recently started posting names and photos of suspects arrested for drunk driving

Evesham police are hoping that social networking on the world wide web can help them in crime prevention.

The police department has a 6-month-old Facebook page which features video surveillance clips, dozens of mug shots, police reports, photos of missing persons and policing initiatives. On Monday, it added names and photos of suspects arrested for drunken driving.

"This arms the public with information and puts a face with a name," said Evesham police Lt. Walt Miller. "We've got a lot of information on our (Facebook) wall. We're only as good as the information the public gives us."

According to the Courier Post, Miller said the exchange of information on the Facebook page helped lead to the arrest last month of James Dahl, a 20-year-old being held on bail in Burlington County Jail for allegedly setting 13 fires in Marlton's Kings Grant development.

"I suppose there might be a potential defamation claim where posting a picture and information was negligent and the suspect isn't a public figure," Bell explained. "It seems at the very least to be bad policy and inappropriate for a police department to do."

NJ.com reports that some have criticized the police page for putting the suspects' reputation on the line before they have been convicted.

But Miller said posting mug shots and arrest information on Facebook is in line with his department's policy on public information and media releases. And while it's not common practice on other police pages statewide, Gloucester Township, for one, is considering it.

Police use it to generate interest in community events, provide information to the public and solicit information from Facebook users, according to Chief Harry Earle.

"We've got a much more popular reaction than we thought," Earle said. "We may want to put mug shots and expand, but our initial focus is contact with the community."

According to a report in the Daily Record, Miller said a handful of Evesham Police Department members post to the Facebook page, mostly from home but not 24 hours a day. He said it's easier to draw people to the page than to the department's website, which has a separate location on the Web.

"We want to see every resident, business owner and person who drives through the community be a fan," Miller said. "That way we can better get our message out and solve crimes."

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— BOB HOLT, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM