The University of North Texas is calling it a “crime-prevention program,” but the new Facebook application they are touting is more focused on what happens after a crime. The Trace-Facebook program, endorsed by the university’s police department, allows students to send lists of stolen or lost goods out to all Facebook members.
The hope is that someone will check Facebook before buying that used laptop or bicycle, see that it belonged to someone else, and call the police or the person who’s missing the goods.
The application also allows Facebook users to store descriptions of their valuables before they go missing. That’s going to either save time when reporting a loss or theft — or give some thief able to hack the Trace program a really good list of what a student has in his or her dorm room. —Josh Fischman
