Police all over the world are finding that the Internet is faster than their reaction times to crime. Yesterday Aussie coppers found that details of a car fatal car crash were posted onto Facebook before they could notify a dead victim's family.

Sergeant Graham Clifford said distressed family members arrived at the crash site after news about it was posted on Facebook. It is not clear how the news ended up online, but it certainly was not illegal to do so. Sergeant Clifford said he was disappointed by the people posting the news but it is not illegal. But the case is being seen as highlighting the difficulties coppers have dealing with information after a crime.

For a long time police have relied on keeping information out of the media as a method of catching crooks. However this is proving impossible as witnesses rush to tell their stories on the world wide web, often before they can be interviewed. Australia and the United Kingdom have strict press laws covering the reporting of crimes. This is because the presentation of evidence can be seen as prejudicial to a trial.

This is the opposite of the US where prosecutors rush to the television stations to present their case before the victim's body is cold in the hope of creating a trail by media. But the Internet is fast making it impossible to keep material information away from the public. It also means that police have to act faster to inform the next of kin before the information ends up on social networking sites and Twitter.