It’s no secret that social media has become a powerful tool that can reach an untold amount of people.
The head of police for Philadelphia’s transit authority is hyperactive on Twitter and a unique posting led to the return of a cell phone and a young woman avoiding a criminal charge.
It all started with a simple posting on Twitter by SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III:
On November 22, a rider accidentally left a cell phone on a bench at the Broad Street subway's Cecil B. Moore station.
Nestel said a woman picked up the phone and did not turn it in to SEPTA's lost and found or to the Transit Police.
By taking the phone, Nestel said she committed a misdemeanor theft of mislaid property.
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Nestel said surveillance footage of the phone being taken was located. However, while the woman who took the phone would likely have been identified and successfully prosecuted, recovery of the phone probably would not have occurred, Nestel said.
So, Nestel decided to “experiment” on Twitter using the amnesty proposition.
Some on Twitter were critical of Nestel’s proposal.
However, in the end, Nestel’s experiment ended up being a success.
On Friday night, the phone was turned in at the 39th District police station. Nestel said the woman provided her sister's information and identified her as the thief. The woman, who will receive amnesty, is a 19-year-old from Philadelphia. No charges will be filed and the phone will be returned to its owner.
