Here is one for the books that may leave you thinking DUH! Texas lawmakers are proposing the use of social media as a means of serving subpoenas. This is a new one on the use of technologies to assist law enforcement on getting the job done. It may seem to some that this is a good way to reduce the work load but there are some undeniable problems with using this method.
First and foremost, not everyone has an account on Facebook or other such networking sites that they get on daily and check. This would perhaps be one of the greatest problems faced by Texas in using social networks as a means of serving subpoenas. We would love to see everyone embracing social media networking but that is just not something that has happened yet. There are still lots of folks out there that don’t even use a computer or if they do it’s not on a daily basis.
The second concern is the fact that there is no way to know whether that person has or has not been served. Can’t you see it now? The judge wants to know where the witnesses are and all that can be said is “Well your honor, we sent the subpoena to their Facebook, and they should be here.” You know that is going to work! (insert a degree of sarcasm here!) Fact is not everyone who does own a profile on a social media networking site checks it daily and even if they did how could it be guaranteed that the right person read the subpoena?
Ultimately it would take more time and effort to serve subpoenas in this way. Looking at what could happen and how much time and money would be spent on fixing problems that this type of business would incur could definitely be an inhibiting factor in making this work. Funds and people are in short enough supply for law enforcement however. If this solution could work, then it might be worth the time and effort to develop it as a working solution.
The problem is that there is neither the money nor the time needed to even try to develop social media as a means of serving subpoenas. If people thought that is what it was being used for then why would those that might be served continue using social media networking sites? Not all people worry about being served, but those that want to avoid being served just wouldn’t check their sites. All they would have to say is “I didn’t get that message.”
You have to give Williamson County Constable Rick Coffman kudos for understanding the impact that social media has on people. At least he is thinking ahead to the future when there will come a time that this may be a great source and help to save time and money. The problem is that the time isn’t yet right. Until there is a way to assure that people are getting their subpoenas and responding appropriately it would cost much more that it would save. We love social media and know that it works but not for all purposes yet.