Cops To Start CrimeTube To Report Offenses

An anonymous reader writes "UK citizens may soon be able to report crimes by uploading videos taken from their mobile phones. Ian Readhead, director of information for the Association of Chief Police Officers, told silicon.com that forces want to build a video reporting portal to allow the public to upload potential evidence. Checking YouTube is now a routine part of many police investigations, he said, and police want to build on the extra functionality that this gives them."

Comments

Holy crap!

[plover]

So as a subscriber, I get to see stories before TFA is slashdotted. The preview stories come with this little question: "See any serious problems with this story? Email our on-duty editor." I don't think emailing the Slashdot editors is going to fix the problems I see with this one!

TFA gives the example of a white van involved in some crime. Well, I have a neighbor whose dog barks all night, but drives a brown van. No problem, a little Photoshop here and there, and voilá! "Instant Evidence"! The neighbors dog spends 6-8 months in the kennel while his owner does the same thing.

Re:Holy crap!

[csartanis]

I wonder what will happen to the videos of police committing crimes?

Re:Holy crap!

[snowraver1]

It makes it too easy. Let's say that your neighbor likes to smoke pot from time to time, and that bothers you. Normally you would have to call the police and file and official complaint. Not anymore. Just get your crappy cell phone out and submit the video and wait for the police come to take them away.

To me, it is one of those "whatwouldpossiblygowrong" type things. I feel that it should be at least a "little bit of a pain in the ass" to file a complaint with the police. Making small amounts of red tape (i.e. you actually have to call a phone number and talk to somone) limits the number of frivilous complaints.

Re:Holy crap!

[vandon]

Even better, how many videos will be deleted because they show a cop running a red light, illegally parked, littering, sleeping in their cars, making illegal turns, etc?

Re:Holy crap!

[AxeTheMax]

That's easy, all of them will be deleted. Because they would be information about the police that may be of use to terrorists, and it's illegal to collect such information.

at last

[Chapter80]

I finally have a server that I can store all my snuff films on!

Re:We the people ...

[Reziac]

Exactly what bothers me about such schemes. Your neighbour becomes your possible enemy... divide the people so they cannot possibly move against an oppressive gov't, because they all distrust one another too much.

Cue the "in Soviet Russia" jokes... oh, how about this one??

Subject: KGB
Place and time: Somewhere in the Soviet Union in the 1950s.

The phone rings at KGB headquarters.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this KGB?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"I'm calling to report my neighbor Yankel Rabinovitz as an enemy of the State. He is hiding undeclared diamonds in some fallen trees on his property."

"This will be noted." Next day, the KGB patrol arrives at the Rabinovitz's house. They chop the trees into pieces, but find no diamonds.

Later the phone rings at the Rabinovitz house.
"Hello, Yankel! Did the KGB come?"

"Yes. Did they chop your firewood?"

"Yes, they did."

"Okay, now it's your turn to call. I need my vegetable patch plowed.

Police = Not a Dangerous Occupation

[onkelonkel]

I don't know how we ever got the idea that police work is particularly dangerous. (Wait...yes I do...from the police!). Police work isn't even in the top 10 most dangerous occupations. Death rate for Loggers about 95 per 100,000 per year, pilots about 90, steel workers about 50. Police are about 6 per 100,000. Only about 1/2 of the police deaths are due to encounters with violent criminals, the rest are things like traffic accidents and heart attacks. We don't condone brutality on citizens by garbage collectors, and their job is 5 times as dangerous as the police.