Sure, we all know the criminal potential of social media. Tell people you’re not home through Foursquare or Twitter and risk your house being burgled. But what about the other way round—can social media be used to catch the bad guys? Yes, according to two reports we’ve read today.

In the Philippines, police used Facebook to track down and arrest a murderer. Witnesses identified Mark Dizon through the social network, through which police found out that a daughter of one of his victims was an ex-girlfriend.

A Dallas police chief has also urged the use of social media to enlist the city’s 1.3 million residents corral any “unrepentant criminals”. He even wants to launch an online system, iWatchDallas, for residents to report suspicious activity.

Philippine Police Use Facebook in Murder Arrest [AFP]

Dallas Police Chief David Brown Urges Social Media to Catch "Unrepentant Criminals" [Dallas News]

Tiger Global Said to Invest in LinkedIn at $2 Billion Valuation [Bloomberg]

Google Develops a Facebook Rival [Wall Street Journal]

Disney Buys Social Gaming Specialist Playdom for up to $763 Million [BrandRepublic]