Facebook Page Warns of Police Roadblocks

(Panola County, MS) Every law agency uses roadblocks from time to time to help curb crime.

Sometimes, they even tell the public where they’re going to be.

Now, a Panola County based Facebook page gets the word out on roadblocks, whether officers like it or not.

The page, called “Panola County Roadblocks,” was apparently set up to alert people to what police and Sheriff’s deputies are doing, and where they’re doing it.

Nicole Morris says it’s a public danger, ”I don’t like it. I have family that I have to protect and to put it out on Facebook, and letting people know where the roadblocks are, they just know to go around and go somewhere else.”

She’s afraid it makes the streets more dangerous, but Batesville’s Police Chief says these days, tactics like roadblocks are almost impossible to keep secret.

”It’s out there and you’ve got cell phones, Facebook, you know, it can be published anyway so it doesn’t really affect us that much,” explained Tony Jones.

He points out Shelby County regularly tells people ahead of time where it sets up roadblocks, ”I don’t have a problem with people knowing we’re setting up roadblocks. We don’t hide ‘em, we’re there for the public, we’re there to protect the public.”

Besides, he says impaired drivers and those without a license or insurance, aren’t among the most tech-savvy anyway.

But strong debate on the Facebook page shows Panola Countians remain divided, with lots sharing the opinion of Nicole Morris.

Chief Jones remains philosophical about the whole thing, saying if the Facebook page keeps a drunk driver off the road, that’s not a bad thing at all.