YouTube Doesn't Encourage Crime, But It Might Help Solve It

from the soundbites-r-us dept

Wed, Jan 17th 2007 11:19am — Carlo Longino

It seems almost inevitable that with any new technology or application that comes along, eventually it will get blamed for causing violent or criminal behavior of people, even though their own stupidity is usually to blame. YouTube has been no exception -- although it's also proving to be a useful tool for law enforcement officers hoping to solve crimes. Earlier, some Canadian police had put surveillance footage from a murder case up on the site, and it helped lead to an arrest. Now, Jim Hughes points out a case in Scotland where a group of kids trashed an Edinburgh Burger King, then one of the geniuses videotaped it with his cameraphone and posted the footage on YouTube. The story made the city's newspaper, along with the requisite line from a politician condemning YouTube and saying it "saddens" him that it's allowed to show these videos that glorify violence. Of course, the police have a slightly different take, saying that the evidence the buffoons upload to YouTube and other sites themselves can prove very valuable, not least because it gives them an opportunity to identify the culprits. Readers of the Edinburgh paper also did some detective work of their own, easily figuring out the kid's name from his YouTube username and finding his pages on other social-networking sites, which also featured the video and information about his fellow criminals. Obviously blaming the technology (and absolving individuals of any responsibility) isn't right -- and the calls to ban YouTube or whatever is the political talking point du jour could actually end up taking away a valuable tool for police, rather than actually doing anything to stop crime.

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12 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2007 @ 11:34am

Potential for Good
Perhaps the time has come for a spin-off site: YouBusted.
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Rose, 17 Jan 2007 @ 11:41am

AH yes...
Politicians in search of a re-election platform...
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Loki, 17 Jan 2007 @ 1:22pm

Hmm....
I think this may have just inspired me to push this sort of aproach here in New Orleans. Everyone has a cameraphone these days and out police/government are obviously unequal to the task.

Thanks for the thought!
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B_Billy, 17 Jan 2007 @ 1:31pm

Long Island...
There was a story in today's Newsday here on Long Island about the same sort of thing. Some 13 YO girls taped themselves beating up another girl and uploaded to YouTube. The girls were IDed by that video. Supposedly, it's "the thing to do" for teenagers these days. Personally, they should beat the parents of these kids. Here's a link to the article... http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-libeat175055393jan17,0,4841672.story?c oll=ny-sports-headlines
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another, 17 Jan 2007 @ 1:46pm

Do you really believe that YouTube does not encourage this type of behavior? The networks learned that if they didn't show the idiots that ran on to the field during a sporting event, fewer idiots ran onto the field.

Does it stop them all? Of course not, but it did reduce the numbers.
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Rui, 17 Jan 2007 @ 1:59pm

same thing happened here in Portugal: some kids were trashing cars, they taped it and posted it to youtube... they were eventually caught by the police, using the footage as a proof.

anyway, i do believe that youtube can encourage crime, the sameway a normal television channel does. kids have a tendency to copy what they see on tv, thats not new to anybody...
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2007 @ 2:26pm

This is just as pathetic as gun control. The guns do not kill people. People kill people. The problem is not the guns, and never has been. They are simply a means to an end. Same with YouTube. Any technology, no matter what it is, can be used for bad things. If you banned everything that caused us harm in some fashion, you'd have to pretty much ban all of existence.
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Gavin Quinn, 17 Jan 2007 @ 3:06pm

Another device to help fight crime
I think this site may be able to help fight crime as well. When we can easily put stories onto a map, we can then search them and know details about an area. http://www.grapheety.com
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|333173|3|_||3, 17 Jan 2007 @ 5:01pm

Stupid Kids
I personally don't see a problem with any idiot uploading evidence of a crime they committed to the net, since it can only help them get convicted. MAybe the police should upload security camera footage of crimes, and ask for people to ring up or visit a police station if they recognise the person, possibly for a reward if htey give usefull information. HTe system must require some effort on the part of the viewers to reduce the numbers of false reports which would be entered on a web form.
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security, 17 Jan 2007 @ 8:01pm

Two Points
1- If that store had a Cctv Dvr Surveillance Recorder the owners could have posted their own videos on YouTube - so blaming YouTube is absurd.

2- Unfortunately, about those Social Networking sites that this incriminating video was posted on with the added information - not one of the other members or viewers felt compelled to tip the police about it on their own accord.
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benji, 17 Jan 2007 @ 9:07pm

Re: Potential for Good
YOUbusted...i like it..instead of posting your vulgar videos on Youtube...just post 'em on youbusted...i like it...i like it alot..
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Nathan, 8 Feb 2007 @ 11:24am

No problem with it
I have no problem if people put incriminating videos on youtube. Violence is all over televison already at least now these violent of illegal activites can become useful as evidence after being posted on Youtube or other video hosting sites. As you have seen surveillance has played a part in these reported cases.
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