Canadian City Asks Google To Reshoot Street View Shots To Get Rid Of Crime Scene

from the permanent-record dept

Wed, Mar 10th 2010 10:03pm — Mike Masnick

We've seen all sorts of governments complaining about aspects of Google's Street View offering, but here's a first. Reader Joe points out that the city of Windsor, Ontario, has asked Google to come back and reshoot a certain location, because the current images capture a "murder crime scene" with police tape, police car and (apparently) bloody bandages. The city is upset because they feel it reflects poorly on the area and "That's not Windsor." They're also upset because the Google cameras came through during a labor strike that resulted in lots of garbage being seen on the streets. It makes you wonder if towns and cities are going to start to "prepare" for Google Street View cars coming through and make sure that everyone is on their best behavior...

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: google street view
Companies: google

33 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:12pm

"It makes you wonder if towns and cities are going to start to "prepare" for Google Street View cars coming through and make sure that everyone is on their best behavior..."

I'll make sure that I'm on my best behavior when they come by then :)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:14pm
  
  Re:
  Oh wait, I can imagine that Dark Helmet would jump in and do some absurd things when they come by just to upset his legislatures.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Dark Helmet (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 7:46am
    
    Re: Re:
    "Oh wait, I can imagine that Dark Helmet would jump in and do some absurd things when they come by just to upset his legislatures."
    
    Sigh, you know me so well. Oddly enough, long before I came to be aware of TechDirt and morphed my consciousness to meld with the Icarus/Daedalus AIs to become the Dark Helmet you know and love, I was caught by Google Streetview walking to work in front of my apartment in Wicker Park (I no longer live in that apartment or neighborhood)
    
    See if you can spot a blurry Dark Helmet at the intersection of Campbell and Wabansia, Chicago 60647....
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - nasch (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 10:57am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Short reddish hair, blue short-sleeved shirt, khaki pants, brown shoes, black shoulder bag?
      
      It's interesting, if you go to that intersection, it's a photo taken in winter on a cloudy day. Move away in any direction, and it changes to a sunny summer day. A building was even repainted in-between the photos. I found the suspected Dark Helmet by moving north on Campbell and then looking west. But I don't know for sure if that's him.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Dark Helmet (profile), 12 Mar 2010 @ 6:58am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        That's me :)
        
        Funny lighting though, my hair isn't red, it's a weird shade of blonde...
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Dark Helmet (profile), 12 Mar 2010 @ 6:59am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Though you WILL notice that even at that earlier stage in my life....I had the power to control the weather....
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:13pm

They better! It's the first thing tourists look at, believe it or not.

In related news, Google Street View went live in the entire UK yesterday.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:32pm

I think this is a legitimate request. Google certainly has the right to tell the Canadian government to go pound sand, but hopefully they'll update the images without making a big deal over it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 8:16am
  
  Re:
  Goodness, it's not the federal government that's asking for this but a municipal government!
  
  Windsor, formerly Detroit north and happy to be so (or south Detroit if you listen to a certian Journey song) isn't so happy with that link anymore and not as well off as it used to be.
  
  ttfn
  
  John
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
NAMELESS.ONE, 10 Mar 2010 @ 11:50pm

as someone elsewhere said
thats about how Windsor is
and remember all you do is cross a lil water and it becomes Detroit aka the little bit more murder city. As far as Canada goes WINDSOR even beats Toronto( about fifteen times its size ) on per capita crime.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jesse, 11 Mar 2010 @ 12:41am

Preparation
"prepare for Google" You mean like this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Valkor, 17 Mar 2010 @ 2:13pm
  
  Re: Preparation
  Heck yes. The more the better.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
PT (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 1:14am

Cleaning up
I wish I'd known when they were coming by to photograph MY house. I'd have made the kids mow the front lawn.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wayne Smallman, 11 Mar 2010 @ 1:33am

A virtual reality check
"That's not Windsor." It was for the person that got murdered.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Joe Blogs, 11 Mar 2010 @ 2:39am

Preparation?!
Being in the buff about 3 days ago having just got out of the shower, I glanced out the window of my hotel room and watched the google street car drive past?!

As i'm travelling about the country, my mates back home are already placing bets on who'll be the first to find me once it gets updated! :P
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
KGWagner (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 2:41am

Windsor's crime rate
Windsor's crime rate relative to Detroit's is so low, you could almost say there's no such thing as crime in that city. Their annual rates are lower than the daily rates for Detroit. For example, in 2007, their annual homicide rate was 1.2 per 100,000 people. So, they're understandably sensitive about appearing to be similar to the rathole they exist so close to. You can see some of their stats at http://www.citystats.ca/city/Ontario/Windsor.html if you're interested.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 3:38am

And all they have done is bring MORE attention to it.

DUH Huh, Duh Huh, Duh huh huh huh huh huh
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Peter Blaise Monahon (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 3:53am

Great -- this shows they recognize photographer's rights
Great -- this shows they recognize photographer's rights.

Let's use this a referential precedent next time some bone-headed community tries to claim public photography violates privacy.

Also, we should call for volunteer street-view photography mashups from the Internetting public whenever some locality claims Google street views should stop at their border.

Would they rather have sloppy or organized visitors? And don't forget the service Google street views does for locals ... and their own service providers, such as their own police!

Oh well, good for Windsor to use the Internet, and good for them to care enough to participate rather than try to back out of modern reality.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 4:26am

LOL - considering Windsor is a complete sh*thole - I think it's a VERY accurate representation!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Al, 16 Jun 2010 @ 8:55am
  
  Re:
  I despise your comment. This is a great city. Yes it has problems but cit doesn't. There is a lot of potential for this city.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jake, 11 Mar 2010 @ 4:28am

The crime scene picture could actually be a technical violation of Canadian law on pre-trial reporting; can anyone confirm this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Vincent Clement, 11 Mar 2010 @ 4:37am
  
  Re:
  Exactly what law on pre-trial reporting are you talking about?
  
  The article in the link was written by a Windsor Star reporter and the picture in that article - one of the crime scene - was taken by a Windsor Star photographer. That same picture appeared in the Windsor Star the day after the crime happened.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Jake, 11 Mar 2010 @ 9:10am
    
    Re: Re:
    I was referring to the Google Street View shot, which I haven't seen yet. A picture of bloodstained bandages lying in the gutter at the crime scene would have a powerful emotional impact, and might be considered capable of unduly affecting a jury; British law is quite a bit tighter on this subject than the US, but I can't comment on Canada.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
kb, 11 Mar 2010 @ 5:40am

Sounds not unreasonable..
Of all of these sorts of tales that I've heard, this one doesn't sound completely unreasonable.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 5:49am
  
  Re: Sounds not unreasonable..
  Agreed, but who foots the bill for the second go around?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Yakko Warner, 11 Mar 2010 @ 7:21am
  
  Re: Sounds not unreasonable..
  Seriously, it could be worse. Windsor could be suing Google for defaming the city or some such nonsense. This doesn't seem quite so bad.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - TtfnJohn (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 8:22am
    
    Re: Re: Sounds not unreasonable..
    "Windsor could be suing Google" for which any reasonable judge would award the city $1 and order them to pay Google's legal bills to defend themselves.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Overcast (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:11am

So in otherwords: "Please photoshop our crappy city?"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:52am

Okay Windsor, smile for the birdy! One, two, three, cheeeese...aww you blinked. Sorry no do-overs
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Peter Blaise Monahon (profile), 11 Mar 2010 @ 6:53am

Perhaps Google will augment their metadata
Perhaps Google will augment their metadata to include "temporary" situations observed by their drivers (voice recognition - drive safely!), and even to include comments on street view images, such as "request to update from citymayor@windsor.ca", and so on.

It makes sense to me to have the Google Street View Camera Truck driver or passenger record metadata on the conditions, especially temporary and under-construction conditions, into the street view image metadata -- it can only enhance Google's reliability if they can immediately put on a map web page "some temporary activities in these scenes may no longer be extant" or whatever.

I've already used Google versus Bing satellite views to see the progress of construction or the change from winter to summer in some areas. Comparative possibilities are very informative.

And I hope Google NEVER permanently deletes street view archives. Wouldn't it be fascinating to set the way back machine to before, say, a bomb went off, or to before reconstruction or renovation, or historically to when you were born? I say KEEP THE DATA!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Matthew Henry, 11 Mar 2010 @ 9:03am

Google has removed the images of the crime scene from Street View.

1190 Wyandotte Street West
Windsor, Ontario N9A 5Y5
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
enrolled agent, 13 Mar 2010 @ 5:28pm

Negative Impact
This does have a negative impact to tourism. Or just plain bad first impressions to Google Street View users who happen to come across this guide. I wouldn't want to go someplace either where there are yellow tapes and a police car in front of an adult lounge. The combination is just so potentially dangerous.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mapper99, 15 Mar 2010 @ 9:27am

Privacy Invasions...
Some serious privacy invasions beginning to surface here: http://www.streetviewfunny.com
[ link to this | view in chronology ]