Oklahoma Game Wardens are Solving Cases Thanks to Facebook

Featured Programs:
Sponsored School(s)

When the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation launched its Facebook page two months ago, it was just trying to share what its game wardens do with the general public. Instead, the page has turned into a criminal hotline.

While the department started the Operation Game Thief telephone hotline decades ago, they now receive more tips through their Facebook page than they get by telephone. According to Oklahoma game warden supervisor James Edwards Jr, quoted in The Oklahoman, game wardens have already solved several cases from contacts made through Facebook posts.

FIND SCHOOLS
Sponsored Content

The first case solved in this manner came about from a post about two deer that were shot out of season in Jefferson County. The poachers only took their heads. The photo received 150,000 page views within a day and a half and was viewed 600,000 times in total. Game wardens were able to solve the case two weeks later thanks to tips they got from Facebook.

Now Oklahoma’s game wardens make a point to post the details of cases they are investigating. While hunters and fishermen frequently text game wardens to report suspicious activity, it appears that the general public did not know how to contact Oklahoma’s game wardens before the department went onto social media.

An additional benefit of Facebook is that instead of just bragging to their friends about their illegal kills, some poachers now post pictures of their kills on the social media site making it much easier to catch them.

The game wardens are having such success with their investigations as a result of their Facebook page that they are thinking of launching a dedicated Operation Game Thief page to use solely for law enforcement purposes.

FIND SCHOOLS
Sponsored Content
Wiley University Services maintains this website. We are an advertising-supported publisher and are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored education offerings or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. This compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. We aim to keep this site current and to correct errors brought to our attention. Education does not guarantee outcomes including but not limited to employment or future earnings potential. View Advertiser Disclosure
Wiley University Services


©2024 https://www.gamewardenedu.org All Rights Reserved.