After reading an article Wednesday's Globe and Mail about how Toronto Crime Stoppers is effectively using social media tools to both successfully solicit crime tips and to reach out to the community. Through the work of Constable Scott Mills, they've set up a YouTube channel and a Facebook account. The YouTube channel has apparently already proved itself by providing a number of tips for a recent shooting.
The real test of whether or not a success is to see how long it continues to be effective. I also think that we'll see a lot more of this kind of police work, and it will be interesting to see what kind of effect (if any) it will have on crime rates, especially considering that the criminals have already made pretty good use of these tools.
-Parker