New Zealand Police use Facebook to stop crime

Police in southern New Zealand nabbed a would-be burglar after they posted security camera images of him trying to break into a safe on the popular social networking site, Facebook. The 21-year-old masked man allegedly broke into a local pub through a roof early Monday morning and spent considerable time trying to crack open a safe using an angle grinder.

"It's a very small room that he broke into, and it was hot weather." Constable Drader of Queenstown said. "There are sparks flying all about him. And after about an hour, he gets too hot and takes his gloves and balaclava off."

"Unable to break open the safe, the man gave up and got ready to leave. He looks around to see if he's forgotten anything, and he looks up right at the camera. It was rather silly. We got a good look."

The police department posted the surveillance camera photos on its Facebook page. By the next day, the man was in custody, fingered by viewers who recognized him from the images on the site, and from TV segments on the Facebook posting.