POLICE have served an intervention order via social networking site Facebook banning an accused cyber-stalker from bullying, threatening and harassing another user.

In an Australian first, Leading Sen-Constable Stuart Walton made a video of himself reading an interim intervention order to the accused man, as if he was directly speaking to him and serving him the order.

The officer was handling a complaint made by a woman about her former boyfriend who she claimed had bullied her over Facebook.

The order, explanation and contacts were transcribed and sent in private messages to the man's Facebook account.

The woman had told police on August 23 that she was being threatened, bullied and harassed via the site.

There had been a history of domestic violence in their relationship and an intervention order had lapsed when the woman was contacted by her former boyfriend via Facebook.

After sending the papers and video, police could not receive confirmation whether the message had been read by the man, but police were able to ascertain the video had not been opened.



The order also required him to take down his Facebook profile.

The innovative method of serving the order was upheld indefinitely by a magistrate despite the man not attending court.

Leading Sen-Constable Walton then served the final order, again via Facebook, and later learned that although the video wasn't opened, the messages had been read when he caught up with the accused man a week later.

"In this instance we were able to deliver justice through the same medium as the crime was committed," he said.

"Police will always pursue traditional means to enforce the law and to protect the community, but we won't shy away from innovative methods.

"This method complied with the law and we delivered the best outcome possible for the affected person."

The force's digital media unit has used Facebook previously to find missing people and even sent messages to return a wallet.

Police used the site in the early stages of their hunt for missing multi-millionaire Herman Rockefeller, contacting a woman in South Africa, before his remains were found.

dowsleya@heraldsun.com.au

Originally published as Face it, you're nicked