Police officers are using social networking sites to crack down on underage drinkers. Students at the University of Wisconsin found this out after receiving a letter asking them to go to court and being fined for underage drinking. While in court, the students were shocked to see their Facebook pictures being used as evidence of them drinking.

“Social networking sites are among many new tools law enforcement has adopted to find underage drinkers, said La Crosse police officer Al Iverson, who works in alcohol compliance and education…Social networking sites are used to catch sexual predators as well, he noted.” via La Crosse Tribune

One of the eight people fined with underage drinking said he received a friend request from a pretty young girl on Facebook. It’s clear that anything you put on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. can hurt you in the future, but to think police officers are snooping around people’s profiles to find pictures of them drinking is still surprising. We've heard people getting fired for posting things on their profile, but this is the first time I've heard of Facebook leading to someone getting fined for drinking. 

One of the students fined said, “I feel like it is shady police work and a waste of taxpayer money to have him (an officer) sit on the computer on Facebook when he could actually be doing police work.” This is a reminder that police officers are always watching or snooping around. Do you think it's "shady" police work?