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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Police overload
We all know we live in an age of information overload, which makes it difficult to sort trivia from the essential and fact from fiction.
Everyone's killed an important email or disregarded a Facebook invitation, but how should police departments respond when bombarded with cyber reports about crimes and imminent suicides, particularly if they aren't even happening in their jurisdiction?
Well, the question hasn't really come up, until now.
A video of Luka Rocco Magnotta committing murder posted online has put several law-enforcement agencies on the defensive for refusing to take calls about the video seriously. A Montana lawyer says Canadian and American law-enforcement officials ignored him when he discovered the video online.
He called police in Montana, Denver and Miami before trying Toronto, but it was hopeless. He even offered to send an email to Toronto police with a link to the murder. Again, no interest.
Police aren't apologizing, but the case has raised new questions about how law enforcement should respond to information received on the Internet.
Police already have trouble keeping up with 911 calls, as well as thousands of other calls from citizens offering tips about wrongdoing. Police don't respond to every tip because, if they did, they would never stop running in circles.
And the last thing they want is an expectation they should respond to emergencies delivered via email. The resources don't exist, and yet the Internet has increasingly become a vital part of everyday life.
The dismissal of the Montana lawyer's cries for action may be understandable, but the excuse of too much information may no longer be acceptable in a future that demands a response equal in speed to the technology.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 4, 2012 A10
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