Steve Neavling

The FBI is urging local police to closely monitor social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, for criminal activity, according to an official publication on the bureau’s website.

The FBI publication also encourages law enforcement to be cautious about their own postings to avoid trouble with the law and others.

In some cases, police can jeopardize a case with posts to social media. Those include postings about lack of sleep or photos of drug evidence.

The publication reminds agents of the treasure drove of data kept on social media that could help catch lawbreakers.