NYC's 911 system upgraded to accept photos, video

New York City is touting a new weapon in its war on crime: cell phone cameras. News.com reports.

"Crime tipsters in New York City can now send photos and video from computers and Web-enabled cell phones and PDAs to the city's 911 and non-emergency hot lines to report crimes and quality-of-life issues such as potholes, officials announced Tuesday.

While many cities' emergency systems are equipped to accept text messages, this is believed to be the first system that also is able to process photos and video.

When 911 callers tell police operators that photos or video related to their complaint is available, a detective with the New York Police Department's Real Time Crime Center will call back to receive the images. "

Camphone picture helps jail fraudster

File under not so smart. A fraudster has been jailed for five years after a photo - taken with a camera phone - of his baby surrounded by piles of money was used by police as evidence against him. The BBC reports.

The scam targeted cash machines outside supermarkets including ones in Beverley and Willerby in East Yorkshire.

"... The accused claimed the picture of his baby son surrounded by money was part of a Romanian tradition celebrating the christening of his child.

But the jury dismissed his claims and he was found guilty of conspiracy to clone bank cards. "

Links to related stories where criminals have been incriminated thanks to their own cameraphones.

Murderer nailed by 'deleted' camera phone pictures of him with victim's body

Forensics experts rebuilt a smashed camera phone and nailed the killer who posed for photos next to his butchered victim. Glasgow Daily Record reports.

"Grinning monster Stephen Price, 19, hammed it up for the camera with the corpse of innocent Scott Burgess after stabbing the quiet young man more than eighty times in his own home.

The gruesome pictures were deleted after the crime and the phone was smashed and buried.

But the images remained in the handset's memory. And technicians atForensic Telecommunications Services (FTS), the world leaders in recovering evidence from phones, were able to piece the device back together and retrieve them."

Left, pictures of some the phones in bad shape FTS has been able to recover data from.

Candid Camera (phones)

The spread of cellphone cameras is providing new ammunition in police investigations as criminals capture their own guilt in photos. The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Last year, Morgan Kipper was booked on charges of stealing cars and reselling their parts. He declared his innocence, but his cellphone suggested otherwise: Its screensaver pictured Mr. Kipper behind the wheel of a stolen yellow Ferrari.

Mr. Kipper, 27, joined a growing group of camera-phone owners who can't seem to resist capturing themselves breaking the law. "As a criminal defense attorney, it's very difficult when a client proclaims his innocence but incriminates himself by taking photos of the stolen items," says William Korman, the Boston attorney who represented Mr. Kipper.

... The result in many police precincts is an unexpected windfall. In the small city of Nashua, N.H., one prosecutor estimates that cellphone photos provide useful evidence 40 or 50 times a year."

Links to related related stupid criminal storiess

Caught a criminal on your phone?

Members of the public who catch criminals red-handed by filming them on mobile phones can now upload pictures directly on to the police website.

A new multi-media innovation on Greater Manchester Police's website allows still photographs and videos to be contributed anonymously by people who may have captured vital evidence on their phone or portable camera.

The idea was initially brought in as part of the police's fight against terrorism.

[via the The Bolton News]

Mayor to print photos to deter prostitution

An Italian town's mayor hopes to shame men into not using prostitutes by photographing cars that pick them up and publishing the details in local newspapers. Reuters reports. [via we-make-money-not-art.com / del.icio.us/régine].

"Cesare De Martin, mayor of the northern town of San Fior near Venice, has instructed local police to photograph any cars seen stopping to liaise with prostitutes on the side of the street.

Advertisements in local newspapers with the number plates will then be published, he said."

Cameraphones set to battle crime

Waleli, a Dutch company, has developed MMS-witness, a system allowing citizens to video crime-in-progress and upload it onto the internet, reports
BCS.

"Witnesses will be encouraged to covertly film events and then text the recordings to a central police database."

NY Mayor Bloomberg outlines citizen camphone hotline

Newsday reports that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his State of the City address, outlined a new project to encourage citizens to send in cameraphones shots of any wrondoing: "If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition, you'll be able to transmit images to 911 or online to nyc.gov", he said.

"The city has yet to secure a contract to implement the technology, a mayoral spokeswoman said.

In concept, the system will use technology that is already used by millions of cell phone users every day, Feinblatt said."

Not so clever thief tags film "robbery" on Youtube and ends up in jail

The Times Online reports on cameraphone footage showing a robbery taking place which led to the arrest of the culprits, after they posted it on YouTube using the keyword "robbery". Not so clever.

"... The 19 seconds of film, captured on a mobile phone and showing the robber, his friends, the theft and the escape, provided police with all the evidence they would ever need.

... In the film he is shown reaching out and snatching the bemused woman's glasses before sprinting off down the pedestrianised street. The final shot shows one of the group still filming with a smile on his face as those around him guffaw with laughter".

View video on YouTube

Wife's phonecam pics 'smoking gun' in sex-with-dog case

It's a slow news day, so here's an appalling story found on boingboing

"A wife took cellphone photos of her husband having sex with their female pit bull, then contacted the police. Her husband may be the state's first resident to face charges under a new law protecting animals from sexual abuse."

Houston health policy director suggests taking camera phone photos for anti-smoking ban

According to Alain Reiter's Camera Phone Report, "Houston's mayoral health policy director, Elena Marks, suggests that consumers who would see people breaking a proposed anti-smoking measure could take camera phone photos for evidence". [via The Houston Chronicle].

... "As the city does not have the resources to create a so-called smoking police, Marks suggests that offended patrons could file municipal complaints on smoking violators if they gather some evidence, such as camera-phone photos and the identity of the person. "We're not encouraging people to tackle someone and get their ID and photocopy it," she notes. "It's going to depend very much on people wanting to follow the law."

SAY CHEESE, YOU SLEAZE!

Camera phones are becoming the frontline defense for women to stop subway perverts in their tracks, experts say, reports The New York Post via Alan Reiter's Camera Phone Report.

"Self-defense pros say the power to humiliate flashers and gropers by exposing their overexposure with a snapshot is an even more powerful weapon for women than a can of Mace or kick in the groin.

A plan proposed by City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. consists of posting photos of convicted gropers and flashers inside subway."If it were up to me, I'd expose these sleazy riders to the third rail," Vallone told The Post. "But since exposure is what they want, that's what they should get. There should be a public wall of shame on every subway line."

... But while many say technology could turn the tide against this age-old crime, others aren't content just to take pictures.

"Why do that?" asked Diana Tavarez, 23, of Manhattan, waiting on the platform at the Rockefeller Center station. "Just punch them like a true New Yorker would."

Other vigilante schemes:

-- Mothers recruited as camera phone vigilantes - Mothers armed with camera phones are helping Manteca Police (California) collar young vandals trying to trash Woodward Park

-- Holla Back The Holla Back NYC website encourages women to photograph sexual harassers and post the photos for the world to see.

-- Harlow council uses MMS to catch vandals - The town is encouraging people to take pictures of anti-social acts on their mobile phones and then text them to a special number along with details of where the vandalism has occurred.

-- Snap a picture of a traffic offender - The Transport Ministry of Malaysia invited the public snap pictures of traffic offenders and send them to the Hall of Shame section of a newly launched road safety website.

Good reading:

-- Cell Phone Vigilantes - A well written and well rounded article by Bennett Gordon from Understanding the next revolution on cameraphones, citizen journalism, the privacy issues surrounding localisation and the availability (for a fee) of cell phone records.

Would-Be Kidnapper Busted Thanks To Camera Phone

CBS2chicago.com reports that a Lemont Township man who tried to lure four teenage girls into his car last month was arrested after the same girls spotted him and took a camera phone shot of his license plate. [via Alan Reiter's Camera Phone Report]

Other articles on cameraphone shots nabbing criminals

Mobile photos helped capture bank robbers

Members of the public standing by during a bank robbery - which took place in Newport City (UK) last April - snapped pictures with their cameraphones, ulitmately providing vital clues for the police.

At Cardiff Crown Court this week, the four men involved were found guilty of the armed robbery and for shooting a guard in the leg.

"Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sutton said: "We had members of the public who were stood there at the time the robbery was taking place taking photographs with cameras. They were taking photographs with mobile phones, they were taking registration numbers, we had CCTV footage so it was a tremendous response right from the beginning.

From two different articles in the BBC, Guilty verdicts in armed robbery and Mobile photos helped capture gang

Mothers recruited as camera phone vigilantes

Mothers armed with camera phones are helping Manteca Police (California) collar young vandals trying to trash Woodward Park, reports the Manteca Bulletin .

"A sudden surge of vandalism to the playground equipment is prompting mothers using the park with their children to fight back. Their weapon of choice: cameraphones

“It’s a great help,” said Manteca Police crime prevention officer Rex Osborn. “Many of the images are pretty sharp and we’re using them with school resource officers and beat officers to try and identify those responsible.”

Other vigilante schemes:

-- Holla Back The Holla Back NYC website encourages women to photograph sexual harassers and post the photos for the world to see.

-- Harlow council uses MMS to catch vandals - The town is encouraging people to take pictures of anti-social acts on their mobile phones and then text them to a special number along with details of where the vandalism has occurred.

-- Snap a picture of a traffic offender - The Transport Ministry of Malaysia invited the public snap pictures of traffic offenders and send them to the Hall of Shame section of a newly launched road safety website.

Good reading:

-- Cell Phone Vigilantes - A well written and well rounded article by Bennett Gordon from Understanding the next revolution on cameraphones, citizen journalism, the privacy issues surrounding localisation and the availability (for a fee) of cell phone records.

Swiss authorities ask public for camphone shots of hooligans

For the first time, Swiss authorities have made a public appeal to the public to submit cameraphone shots or videos of the hooligans rioting - following a football match last Saturday night (between the Basel and Zurich teams) - in hope to identify the culprits. [via Nouvel Obs (in French)]

Cell Phone Vigilantes

A well written and well rounded article by Bennett Gordon from Understanding the next revolution on cameraphones, citizen journalism, the privacy issues surrounding localisation and the availability (for a fee) of cell phone records. Most interesting, Gordon mentions a souveillance site I had never heard of before:

The Holla Back NYC website encourages women to photograph sexual harassers and post the photos for the world to see.

"The site prominently features people pointing their camera phones at the viewer, glorifying the "Cell Phone Vigilantes" who fight back against their alleged sexual harassers.

But as Kathryn Belgiorno of The Village Voice points out, sites like this put an enormous amount of faith in the photographer. The pictures are free of context, and viewers are led to assume sexual harassment when the situation might not be as it seems. Even if the photos are represented truthfully, anti-surveillance activist Bill Brown says, "You're opening the floodgates to a universal degradation, reinforcing mutual suspicion and paranoia."

Camphone shot of stolen Ferrari leads to suspect

When will thieves wise up to not incriminate themselves with their cameraphones? The latest story by 7 News Boston, reports that during their investigation of a stolen Ferrari, the Police found a cell phone in a chop shop with a picture of the car.

"Police said a cell phone with a picture of the car found during the arrest led to the Ferrari as investigators tracked a man suspected of stealing cars and selling their parts."

Related stories:

-- Cameraphone picture gives suspect up - One of the suspects phones had interesting wallpaper - a picture of one of the suspects holding an AK-47.

-- "Cellphone bandits apprehended - A team of "cell phone bandits" recorded themselves robbing a store with one of their camera phones. The police recovered it.

-- Drug Dealers' mobile phone mistake - A gang has been charged with drug traffickin in Brazil fter the police found pictures on their cameraphone of themselves with kilos of cocaine.

Lost phone leads police on drug hunt

Picture this: Mature marijuana plants and piles of cash, captured on a camera phone -- digital evidence just waiting for police. The Grand Rapids Press reports.

"Narcotics officers said they were amazed anyone would take such photos, especially when they could fall into the wrong hands. But they did. And police say that is common.

Members of the local Metropolitan Enforcement Team said they tied the phone, found at a store in Wyoming, to a pair of Kentwood brothers, ages 20 and 17. In an attempt to find the owner, a security officer looked at a digital photo on the phone. It was of marijuana, so he called police.

Police found photos of mature marijuana plants, apparently being grown indoors, and a lot of cash, court records show. "

Related stories :

-- Drug Dealers' mobile phone mistake - A gang has been charged with drug trafficking in Brazil after the police found pictures on their cameraphone of themselves with kilos of cocaine.

-- Cameraphone picture gives suspect up - A ringing cell phone was the downfall of two men, who insisted they had no knowledge of an AK-47 used in an October shooting. They continued to stand by their story under questioning. Then their cell phones chimed in. As Detective Kevin Doran tried to silence the rings, he noticed one had interesting wallpaper - a picture of one of the suspects holding an AK-47.

-- "Cellphone bandits' record themselves robbing a store - A much sought after team of "cell phone bandits" recorded themselves robbing a store with one of their camera phones. The police recovered it.

Cell Phone Takes Picture Of Alleged Police Brutality

An alleged act of police brutality was caught on a cell phone camera in San Antonio, Texas, report Houston Chronicle and KSDK.

The shaky cell phone video shows a police officer striking a man with a baton as paramedics hold down his wife. A witness who didn't know the couple filmed the incident, which began when Williams suffered what she said is an asthma-related seizure.

The video, released Saturday, shows emergency personnel around a woman laying on the pavement. They hold her arms down. Then the video shows three police officers holding down a man on the ground. Another officer uses a baton to hit the man, who doesn't appear to be struggling at the time.

The couple is seeking $7.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages along with a requirement for police cars to have cameras that record all stops.

Drug Dealers' mobile phone mistake

According to Ananova, a gang has been charged with drug trafficking in Brazil after the police found pictures on their cameraphone of themselves with kilos of cocaine

"Police in Sao Paulo arrested the men and searched them after a tip off, Jornal da Globo reports. They found marijuana and cocaine on them but not enough to charge them wth drug dealing.

But then they found pictures on their phones of them packing kilos of cocaine and with a large amount of marijuana.

Related story:

-- Cameraphone picture gives suspect up - One of the suspects phones had interesting wallpaper - a picture of one of the suspects holding an AK-47.

-- "Cellphone bandits apprehended - A team of "cell phone bandits" recorded themselves robbing a store with one of their camera phones. The police recovered it.

Armed robbery may have been filmed on phones

Police say armed robbers who broke into a sports shop with chainsaws and pickaxes may have been filmed by members of the public on mobile phones, reports BBC News.

A gang of up to eight masked robbers broke through security shutters at MBO Sports on Bury New Road in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester on Tuesday night.

Greater Manchester Police are urging anyone who took footage of the raid to come forward.

Harlow council uses MMS to catch vandals

Harlow Council is turning to citizens with mobile camera phones to help it keep tabs on vandals, reports vnunet.

"The town is encouraging people to take pictures of anti-social acts on their mobile phones and then text them to a special number along with details of where the vandalism has occurred.

'This new service will help increase people's involvement in making Harlow a safer cleaner place to live by expanding the ways in which some forms of anti-social behaviour is reported to us,' according to Councillor Chris Millington.

.. Another councillor, Kevin Brooks, warns people not to put themselves in danger by taking photographs of actual crimes being committed."

I don't feel comfortable with such a general appeal to the public to turn people in, you can so easily see how such a plan will go wrong. Pranksters sending in false information, people's privacy being violated. And just generally creating a "brothers keeper" climate.

Snap a picture of a traffic offender

The next time you see a traffic offence being committed, snap it on your handphone or camera and send it to the Hall of Shame section of a newly launched road safety website. [via the Malaysian Star]

"The Transport Ministry is inviting the public to help enforcement officers keep an eye on traffic offenders so that action could be taken against them.

In all fairness, besides the Hall of Shame, there is also the Hall of Merit for the public to post pictures of exemplary road users to help improve road safety awareness".

Suspects caught on phone camera

A mobile phone image has been released showing three men who are wanted for questioning after two friends were stabbed and beaten outside a pub in north London.

Both victims needed emergency life-saving treatment.

Det Sgt Alan Dawson said CCTV footage was not good enough to identify the attackers and they have hit a dead end trying to identify them through local inquiries.

"On the evening a friend of the victim took a camera photograph of him whilst he was sitting in the pub," explained Dawson. "She has also managed to capture three men in the background of this picture who we are eager to question about the attack."

The police said the attack was unprovoked and are offering a £20,000 reward for information leading to a prosecution.

(via BBC News)

Teenager's cameraphone snap exposes man who exposed himself

The Rochest Democrat and Chronicle reports that a Queens (NY) schoolgirl took a picture with her cameraphone of a man lurking in a subway station who, she and her friends say, had previously exposed himself.

"The girl, 14, showed the picture to a nearby police officer who ran down to the platform, spotted the man and arrested him. The girls attend Mary Louise Academy, a Catholic school".

Creating a precedent, judge rules on search warrant for cameraphone

In North Carolina, the police violated a man's constitutional rights when they seized a camera cell phone containing explicit images of an unconscious woman, a judge ruled this week, reports The Associated Press.

"New Hanover County Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. ruled in a case that could create precedent and serve as a reference point for future cases nationwide. He found that officers should have obtained a search warrant before viewing images from the camera phone."

Details of the case from NY Times / AP Online:

Christopher R. Snow, 26, was charged in July with second-degree sexual offense and secret peeping-photographic image.

The officers should have obtained a search warrant before viewing images on Snow's cell phone, New Hanover Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. ruled this week.

N.C. judge to rule on photos from camera phones

A Superior Court judge must decide whether law enforcement officers overstepped when they downloaded images from the cell phone of a man accused of sexual offense and secret peeping, reports the AP.

"Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. could rule this week on the motion to suppress evidence, Assistant District Attorney Todd Fennell said.

"In this case, the pictures are one piece of evidence," Fennell said. "The pictures showed what we contend is a sexual assault."

Police received some images from Snow's carrier, Sprint, after obtaining a search warrant, Fennell said. The camera phone is still held as evidence.

Fennell said investigators researched the issue but didn't find any legal precedent. "There's no case law pertaining to getting information off a cell phone," he said.

The question of illegal search and seizure as it pertains to camera phones is one the judge will have to decide, Weber said. "I think it's just a case where the law has to catch up with the technology," he said.

Appeal for bank raid phone photos

Police have appealed for people who witnessed an armed robbery to come forward if they used their mobile phones to take photos. BBC News via Reiter's Camera Phone Report.

"Three men escaped in a dark car after stealing a substantial amount of money.

Police said CCTV images had shown people in the street were using mobile phones at the time of the robbery."

Cameraphone picture gives suspect up

A very entertaining story on how a picture on a cell phone gave up a suspect to the police. From the Press of Atlantic City.

"A ringing cell phone was the downfall of two men, who insisted they had no knowledge of an AK-47 used in an October shooting. They continued to stand by their story under questioning.

Then their cell phones chimed in. As Detective Kevin Doran tried to silence the rings, he noticed one had interesting wallpaper - a picture of one of the suspects holding an AK-47.

"A picture truly is worth a thousand words," said Capt. Joe Fair, the vice squad's commander.

Malaysian police sollicits camphone shots and videos from citizen reporters

The Penang police of Malaysia is solliciting camera phone shots and videos from citizen reports in order to help fight crime, reports the New Straits Times.

"From tomorrow, people in the state can send MMS and texte messges to the police.

State police chief Deputy Commissioner Datuk Christopher Wan Soo Kee said the newly introduced MMS service was an extension of the SMS service implemented last October.

“We have found the SMS to be an effective means of submitting information to the police. This is why we have introduced the MMS service now,' he told a Press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here.".

Mobile phone snappers face jail for having tried to photograph a prisoner

Two women, one aged 17, were spotted using their mobile phones just feet away from a prisoner at Manchester Crown Court.

Anne Marie McGlacken, from Romiley, Stockport and the teenager were in court as a relative was being sentenced for possessing a key-fob gun and ammunition.

Judge Martin Rudland ordered that the women should be arrested and have their phones seized for police examination.

He told them: "You must both understand a custodial sentence is highly likely for what you have done and I give you fair warning now that it is likely to follow." (via BBC News)

"Cellphone bandits' apprehended

This doesn't sound too smart. A much sought after team of "cell phone bandits" recorded themselves robbing a store with one of their camera phones. The police recovered it.

The North Jersey Media Group reports on the arrest of the "cellphone bandits," a gang of gun-wielding robbers who had carried out at least four daytime heists at various businesses since July.

"The brazen, and sometimes ruthless, robbers mostly targeted wireless stores, and even recorded themselves robbing one store with a cellphone camera, police said. The recording was recovered, they added.

Cellphones for sleuths

Art thieves of the world, beware. Investigators may soon get a new weapon in the painstaking pursuit of stolen paintings and sculpture - a camera-equipped cellphone. By Kevin J. O'Brien for The Internatioanl Herald Tribune.

"Starting next year, Derdack, a company based in Potsdam, Germany, plans to start selling software for mobile phones that it says could revolutionize the work of art investigators.

With Derdack's software, investigators can take a photo of a suspicious painting with a cellphone or a personal digital assistant, send it wirelessly by GPRS or UMTS networks to international databases of stolen art and make a match - within seconds.

If it passes muster, Derdack's software could become a powerful tool in the fight against art theft, which Interpol says is increasing with the price of art. Across Europe, there are more than 100,000 pieces of stolen art on record, according to Interpol".

Related:

-- Police camera phones hunt graffiti - Images of etchings are captured on camera phones, emailed to police headquarters and stored in a database of graffiti tags, the trademark sign of the urban street 'artist'. Detectives can then compare them with images of spray paint vandalism in towns and cities.

-- Police test “snap trap” approach - Officers can now photograph graffiti and identify individuals responsible for multiple instances of vandalism by looking at distinctive signatures and styles. “The pictures can be emailed straight from the scene and stored on a database, a bit like fingerprints. We collect the images and can charge an individual with numerous offences rather than just one.”

Vandalism marks matched logo found on lost cell phone

Investigators used a logo on a lost cell phone to track down graffiti vandalism suspect David McGreal, according to a police report, writes The Kane County Chronicle.

"The "Slim North" logo on McGreal's phone, which was found by a groundskeeper in the Abby Glen subdivision, matched the spray painted marks found on several Campton Township traffic signs and roads in May."

Other police efforts to track down graffiti vandals thanks to cameraphones:

-- Police camera phones hunt graffiti - Images of etchings are captured on camera phones, emailed to police headquarters and stored in a database of graffiti tags, the trademark sign of the urban street 'artist'. Detectives can then compare them with images of spray paint vandalism in towns and cities.

-- Police test “snap trap” approach - Tayside Police (Scotland) are equipping officers with picture phones in a trial-run crime-busting initiative to tackle persistent graffiti vandals allowing officers to photograph graffiti and identify individuals responsible for multiple instances of vandalism by looking at distinctive signatures and styles.

Camera phones donated to Child Advocacy Center

Cingular Wireless has donated nine Motorola camera phones to the Child Advocacy Center on Spring Hill Avenue (Alabama) to be used in the investigation of crimes against children, according to al.com.

"The cellular telephone company also donated one year of free air time along with the new camera phones.

Center Director Pat Guyton said the Motorola camera phones will be used to take pictures at crime scenes involving children, which will then be transmitted to other law enforcement officers or the district attorney's office.

Those who investigate crimes against children often are "called out at all times of the day and night, going to hospitals and homes," Guyton said. "They need to document what they see, and these new state-of-the-art, Motorola camera phones will help the investigators."

Cell phone camera photos make arrest a snap for police

The Tennessean reports that a knife-wielding robber was caught yesterday after his victim — a limousine driver — used his cell phone's camera to snap photos of the man and his truck.

The camera photos helped police find, identify and arrest the man about 10 minutes later.

''A lot of us here hadn't thought about the potential of cell phone cameras until early this morning,'' Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. ''It's the first time we can think of that a cell phone camera has been used in a violent crime such as this to provide officers on the scene with outstanding evidence.''

''It was good, quick thinking of me,'' said Miranda, a driver for The Limo Co. ''At first I thought of (having a camera phone) as a thing of leisure, but now I think of it as an important tool for the workplace.''

Aaron said police would encourage citizens to use cellular telephones in similar circumstances, and if citizens spot something that appears unusual. Cell phone cameras can increasingly aid police in crime-fighting, he added.

Related article: Camera phones as a new crime-solving tool.

Mobile Phone Photos Adopted As Court Evidence For First Time in Beijing

Beijing Haidian People's Court yesterday held a session in a case that involves Mr. Wu Mingming, a furniture manufacturer, who had bilked two students' parents of about RMB180000 ($ 21,747.-) by pretending he was a secretary of an Education Minister in China, reportes China Tech News.

"One of the students submitted a photo taken with a mobile phone as evidence. The photo is a small one, but it shows one of the parents handing money to the defendant, Mr. Wu. The parent said he took the photo because Mr. Wu refused to give him an invoice, and he was afraid he would be cheated.

So far, no judgment has been made in the case. This is the first documented time that mobile phone photos have been submitted as evidence in a court in Beijing."

Related articles where camera phone snapshots have helped to nab a criminal around the world:

-- Camera phones as a new crime-solving tool

-- Cellphone snapshot exposes flasher

-- Camphone snap as evidence in police investigation

-- Teen abduction foiled thanks to camera phone

-- Pictures from camera phones used as evidence to catch criminals

-- Young robber caught on cell phone camera

-- Robbers caught on cell phone camera

Camera phone is man's defense

In an other incident were a cell phone is used as evidence, the Belleville News reports on a Madison County man accused of rape, who was able to prove his innocence thanks to pictures taken that night with his camera phone.

"The photos he snapped convinced authorities Carrie Alesandrini wasn't being truthful when she reported a rape to Bethalto Police in January. Prosecutors ended up charging Alesandrini with disorderly conduct, and she recently pleaded guilty.

According to Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Vucich, the pictures were of sex acts that were obviously consensual. Alesandrini had taken pictures of the man, and he took pictures of her,

"There were times when it was clear she had the camera. They weren't the kind of pictures that would be taken during a rape," Vucich said.

The prosecutor said Alesandrini apparently made up the allegation because her boyfriend was suspicious about her being gone all night.

Industry officials say the case is an example of how the growth of camera phones is helping police get to the bottom of cases".

Related articles on how cameraphones have helped nab criminals:

-- Camera phones as a new crime-solving tool

-- Cellphone snapshot exposes flasher

-- Camphone snap as evidence in police investigation

-- Teen abduction foiled thanks to camera phone

-- Pictures from camera phones used as evidence to catch criminals

-- Young robber caught on cell phone camera

-- Robbers caught on cell phone camera

Camera phones as a new crime-solving tool

Cellphones that take pictures are one of the newest ways to fight crime as snapshots can help police nab criminals, build leads and gather evidence, according to an article in The Sun Herald via Cameraphone Report

"A camera phones become more widespread, police and wireless representatives say they expect more citizens to reach for their phones when witnessing crimes.

A victim whose life is in danger will probably not have the wits to snap a picture, he said. But when they are used during less serious crimes, camera phones could benefit police investigations".

Related articles where camera phone snapshots have helped to nab a criminal:

-- Cellphone snapshot exposes flasher

-- Camphone snap as evidence in police investigation

-- Teen abduction foiled thanks to camera phone

-- Pictures from camera phones used as evidence to catch criminals

-- Young robber caught on cell phone camera

-- Robbers caught on cell phone camera