Queenstown police intelligence analyst Constable Sean Drader said he set up the site a couple of weeks ago as another way of identifying offenders in the area.
While many people may not find it "that relevant", shopkeepers, hoteliers and backpackers, in particular, may find it useful, Const Drader said.
"They have a pretty keen interest in spotting naughty people. It seems to work better on a local level. I really want local shopkeepers to have a go, look at it and evaluate whether it's [beneficial] to them. Even people who work in shops . . . office workers . . . they're like [our] eyes and ears".
As well as sending out images of offenders to daily newspapers, posting those images and video from surveillance cameras on the site was further widening the net in tracking down people of interest, Const Drader said.
Human curiosity, however, also played a part in the site's initial popularity.
"There are people from other places who are interested . . . you can see some of those shows on TV where they replay things [involving police] or surveillance footage. There's a natural curiosity."
The only other police district using the Internet as a tool to catch criminals was Blenheim, where the police had set up a Bebo site - targeting a younger audience - launched as a pilot, he said.
Feedback on the Queenstown site had been positive, particularly after it featured on TVNZ and Campbell Live on Wednesday night, Const Drader said.
Some comments made included the "great site" showed initiative and more was needed; it was a "great idea" and "orsum".
Const Drader said anyone could register to become a "fan" or "friend" of the Queenstown police and those who were interested would receive updates, which they could choose to view or not.
While people did have to register with Facebook to view the site, they could remain anonymous by creating a user name that did not identify them.
• The web address for the Queenstown police page on Facebook is: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Queenstown-Police/36732244172
The page can also be found by searching Queenstown police using the Facebook search engine.
