Police at risk while site rakes in cash

Dec 14 2008 by Michael Kelly, Sunday Sun

IN the week when a jury returned an open verdict in the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, gunned down by armed officers on a London tube train, the reputation of our police has been hard hit.

The men who took part in the tragically bungled operation have received a great deal of justified criticism, not least from the inquest jury, who dismissed their version of events surrounding the death of the innocent Brazilian.

However, there is a world of difference between what has been said about them and the pure malice contained on the Facebook social networking site which has targeted Northumbria police.

It contains malicious attacks on officers, some of them named, and the station they are based at identified.

Despite concerns flagged up to Facebook — not least by some who are the target of such vitriol and their bosses at Northumbria police — the offensively named group remains open.

If the internet bosses continue to stick their heads in the sand, somebody could get hurt.

The idiots who have contributed are not the sort of people you would want to meet on a dark night, or any other time come to that.

What Facebook is allowing to happen is the drawing of a big red target on men who are doing a job which, by its nature, means they have to deal with the lowlifes of this world.

Meanwhile, bosses at the US-based company continue to rake in millions. Can there be a better illustration of the phrase blood money?