Why On Earth Do People Film Themselves Committing Crimes On Facebook?

It's a known fact that people post way too much information on the Facebook these days. What is sadly becoming apparent is that people are upping the ante. It used to be that people would just post their drama or what they were having for dinner but now people have turned to showing off their crimes. What could be causing people to do this? The guys over at Dude Comedy took the time to debate this subject and we are going to share their findings with you.

#1

Facebook is struggling to balance the freedom of its users to post what they want with having control over what spreads among its billions of users. More times than they care to remember, people have been using their platform to broadcast heinous crimes or brag about them.

#2

At the start of his June 15th live stream, Antonio Perkins is seen with others in front of a house. Six minutes later, a blast of gunfire can be heard, and the 28-year-old collapses. The video screen goes black, but cries fill the remainder of the 14-minute video until police arrive at the scene. Perkins was pronounced dead that night. Facebook live was there to catch the entire gang shooting.

#3

Earlier this year, a teen with mental health issues was bound, gagged and tortured in a five-hour-long session that was live streamed across the internet. Four people used Facebook Live to broadcast the violence to the world. This heinous act saw the attackers beat the man and cut his scalp with a knife. Facebook did eventually remove the live broadcast but it was online for a least a half an hour. Yet another case of people using Facebook to broadcast their evil.

#4

18-year-old Shayla Rudolph was charged with abduction on after she taped her two-year-old son to a wall and broadcast it on Facebook Live. Rudolph explained in the recording that she taped him to the wall in order to clean the house. She said “Parents don’t need to whoop their kids, you can’t clean with them running around tearing up? Tape them to the wall. You can’t cook or none of that because they running around? Tape them to the wall.”

#5

Sean Vasquez, 20, was arrested after exchanging shots with police. After shooting at deputies Vasquez barricaded himself in a home for several hours. During the standoff, Vasquez talked with a crisis negotiating team. He eventually surrendered to members of the SWAT team and was taken into custody. Vasquez filmed himself shooting at police using Facebook Live.

#6

Everyone knows the story of Steve Stephens by now. Upset by his ex-girlfriend he decided to film himself murdering Robert Godwin, an innocent man just walking home from spending Easter with his children. Stephens would film the incident that sparked outrage and a nationwide manhunt that culminated with Stephens suicide.

#7

After seeing all of these instances of people using the social media giant to broadcast heinous things we are left with one question. Why are people doing this? The guys over at Dude Comedy take up the debate. Check it out here.

#8 If you see a crime being committed on Facebook Live you should do these things immediately

Call 911:

If someone is in danger call the police immediately.

Look for descriptive details:

Providing key details about what you see can help law enforcement track down the crime. If you see a street sign or unique characteristic of a person in the video tell police what you're seeing and any information you may have about the people in the video.

Report the post to Facebook:

Flag the video so that you can bring the harmful behavior to the company's attention. Facebook can then try to get in contact with police accordingly.

Record the video with your phone:

Capturing video of the crime can help police if the person removes the stream. Taking a screenshot of the live video and the person's profile can also help.

Don't share the video:

Helping spread harmful content may encourage the criminal to continue committing or commit further criminal acts. You might think you are helping spread awareness by sharing you may also be putting the victim in more danger. The criminal could be seeking attention.

Don't contact the person if they're committing a crime:

Reaching out to the criminal could cause them to delete the video.

What if someone is not committing a crime, but is doing something else that's concerning?:

What you see may not be a crime but may still need to be addressed. You can help a person being cyberbullied or expressing suicidal thoughts by quickly reporting it to Facebook.

Tell a friend or family member:

Telling someone can be the first step to getting a person help.