Dubuque Police Say Facebook Page is Not Legit

By Katie Wiedemann, Reporter

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By Aaron Hepker

Story Created: Sep 8, 2010 at 7:50 PM CST

Story Updated: Sep 8, 2010 at 9:27 PM CST

DUBUQUE, Iowa — Facebook pages are popping up for area businesses, schools and agencies. Now the Dubuque Police Department has its own page, but there’s a problem. The police did not create that page, and it’s causing some confusion.

If you’re searching online for information from Dubuque Police, Facebook is not the place to find it.

“We don’t have any social media pages,” Dubuque Police Lieutenant Scott Baxter told KCRG-TV9 News. Police aren’t quite sure who created the page. They say there’s nothing illegal about it, but police just want people to know the information on the site is not official. Baxter said, “If something down the road gets posted, or some of the content was inaccurate or somebody tried to solicit funds or do anything like that, which could turn out to be a criminal matter, we thought we’d get out ahead of it.”

Lt. Baxter says so far, all of the posts and pictures are not misleading. And police want to make sure it stays that way. Baxter said, “We don’t want people to be scared if they don’t need to be scared. We don’t want information out there that is going to dramatically alter their lifestyle unnecessarily.” Police also don’t want people to post tips or questions for investigators on this unofficial site, because chances are an officer won’t read it. Baxter says the best way to exchange information online is through the official city of Dubuque website.

Also, if you sign up for Dubuque’s “notify me” program, the police will send a text message or e-mail to your cell phone. Those messages will alert subscribers of any public notices.

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