A growing number of people, business owners and police departments are using YouTube.com videos to fight crime and capture alleged criminals.

According to a recent NPR.org article, a cigar shop owner in Mesa, AZ recently uploaded a security camera video recording of two people that stole two Seiko watches from his store, in an effort to embarrass and catch the thieves. The shoplifter video was viewed over 30,000 times.

Eventually, local law enforcement caught the culprits, when the stolen watches were found at a pawn shop not far from the cigar store where they were stolen. Although it is unclear if the YouTube.com video played any role in the capture of the shoplifters, it highlights a new form of citizen crime fighting, using video sharing and social networking sites.

In another story, the Johnson City Police Department in Tennessee claims to have successfully used YouTube.com video clips to catch wanted criminals.

You can view one of the Johnson City Police Department wanted criminals videos below –

Crime videos are some of the most popular online video clips and routinely generate thousands of views, making them one more useful tool in catching criminals.

FOXNews.com is reporting on a bizarre FaceBook.com group that encourages police officers to post stories of their police car collisions that involve pedestrians.

The FaceBook.com POLCOL ( a term used by officers to refer to Police Collisions ) group has over 300 members and allows member officers the opportunity to share POLCOL stories in which a pedestrian has been hit and even upload photos of their damaged vehicles.

A The group stories and picture postings has prompted an internal investigation from London’s Met Commissioner, as a number of the posts allegedly involve British police officers.

You can view the FaceBook.com POLCOL group ( with a FaceBook account ) @ Yes I have had a POLCOL.

Source: FOXNews.com

Here is a bit of unusual law enforcement news. The Associated Press is reporting that hot pink Hello Kitty armbands will be used in Bangkok Thailand to punish police officers who break the law. The offending police officers will be required to wear Hello Kitty armbands around the office as a mark of shame and embarrassment.

From the article –

Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring “Hello Kitty,” the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.

Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late — among other misdemeanors — will be forced to stay in the division office and wear the armband all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan. The officers won’t wear the armband in public.

The striking armband features Hello Kitty sitting atop two hearts.

“Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor,” said Pongpat, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok.

“(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It’s not something macho police officers want covering their biceps,” Pongpat said.

He said police caught breaking the law will be subject the same fines and penalties as any other members of the public.

Source: Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame

The Associated Press is reporting that Attorneys General from eight states are requesting that MySpace.com turn over data on registered sex offenders that use the social networking site.

The request is for the names of registered sex offenders who use the site and the location where they live.

You can read the full story at AGs seek sex offender data from MySpace.

The TechCrunch blog is reporting on the use of the virtual social networking SecondLife.com by FBI agents to review the online gaming and casinos found in the Second Life virtual world.

From the post –

The FBI has visited Linden Lab and their Second Life casinos in order to figure out just what that giant teddy bear — really a Japanese exchange student — and the fat man in Spokane who looks like a Suicide Girl and calls himself Wendy Wild are doing over at the roulette table.

Source: G-Men Visit Second Life Casinos, Stay for the Brothels.

According to this Dec. 8 article in the Guardian Unlimited, organized criminal gangs are recruiting undergraduate college students for future corporate criminal activities by offering to pay for their college tuition and expenses.

From the article –

Organised gangs are recruiting the next generation of internet criminals by approaching undergraduates on university campuses.

In some cases gangs offer to finance undergraduates’ studies and plant them as sleepers within target businesses, according to a report on cybercrime which draws on intelligence from the FBI and British and European hi-tech crime units.

Source: Internet criminals signing up students as ’sleepers’

The AP is reporting this weird bit of law enforcement news. A thief tried to rob a gas station with a uniformed police officer waiting in line.

From the article –

SHREVEPORT, La. — A masked gunman walked into a gas station and demanded money, apparently not noticing that the line at the counter included a uniformed police officer.

L.J. Scott, a member of the Police Department’s armed robbery task force, told the would-be robber to put his own hands up.

Scott took the handgun and arrested Derek Pierson Jr., 21, of Stockton, Calif., police department spokeswoman Kacee Hargrave said.

Hargrave said Pierson was booked into the city jail on a charge of armed robbery with a firearm.

Wired News is reporting on a California law that will track convicted sex offenders for life via a GPS system attached to ankle bracelets.

From the article –

Just a few years ago, satellite tracking of convicts was a newfangled alternative to house arrest. Now, the number of American ex-offenders tracked through GPS-equipped ankle bracelets will likely triple to more than 30,000, thanks to the passage of a California ballot measure.

California’s Proposition 83, which easily passed Tuesday by a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent, requires many convicted sex offenders to be monitored by GPS for life. Only those who committed felonies and served time in prison will be affected.

Source: Attack of the Perv Trackers

An NBC affiliate in Los Angeles is reporting that 2 Los Angeles police officers are being investigated by the FBI after a video tape clip showing them beating a man during an arrest was posted on the video sharing / social network site YouTube.

From the article —

Two Los Angeles police officers were under investigation by the LAPD and FBI Thursday over a videotape that shows them holding down and repeatedly punching a man during an August arrest in Hollywood.

The 20-second video, posted on the popular YouTube Web site, shows Officer Alexander Schlegel holding down William Cardenas, 23, as Officer Patrick Farrell places his knee on the man’s neck and punches his face with a fist six times during the Aug. 11 scuffle near the intersection of Gordon Street and Fountain Avenue.

Source: FBI Investigates Arrest Caught On Video

Texas has put a “Virtual Border Watch” test site online for public access. People can sign up for an account with a valid email address and password to start viewing eight different web cams on the Texas / Mexico border.

People are encouraged to report any illegal activities that are witnessed on the web cams to authorities via email.

You can access the Texas Border Watch site @ TexasBorderWatch.com.