An Associated Press article reports how camera phones are helping to catch criminals. Although many of the examples already have been reported in the press, including in Camera Phone Report, one example is of a Georgia woman who snapped a photo of a man who exposed himself to her.
The article says when Lisa Johnson saw a man exposing himself she didn't call 911. Instead, she snapped a photo with her camera phone.
The photo helped police track down the man, who was a former high school principal. He was arrested and charged with public indecency.
Snap, don't hit
Johnson, who lives in Alpharetta, Ga., about 20 miles north of Atlanta, says, "I had my hand in my pocket, and rather than hit him and break my phone, I remembered there was a camera."
She notes, "I guess I was just quick on my toes." Quick on the shutter, actually!
Crime-fighting device
AP mentions the case of a 15-year-old Clifton, N.J. boy who used his camera phone to snap a photo of a man in a car who solicited him as well as taking a photo of the car's license plate. The man was caught the next day.
Capt. Robert Rowan of the Clifton police department likes camera phones. He says in the article, "It's an excellent improvement in the technology. Everyone has them with them all time."
Rowan notes, "You have sort of a crime-fighting device on your person at all times."
Familiar sources
Two sources are quoted who might be familiar to those of you reading camera phone Weblogs: Emily Turrettini of picturephoning.com and I.
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