Perps Catch Themselves on Candid Camera

DAs using criminals' own cellphone pics to put them away
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 8, 2007 9:29 PM CST
Perps Catch Themselves on Candid Camera
Criminals sometimes transfer their incriminating images from their phones to their computers, and then post them online   (Associated Press)

Criminals may want to think twice the next time they feel like snapping photos of their exploits: authorities nationwide are using the indecent exposures as evidence against them, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We pray for those kinds of cases,” said an assistant state attorney, while a small-town prosecutor estimated phone cameras supply evidence 40-50 times a year.

A professor explained the phenomenon: “If you give someone a camera phone, it's an inviolable rule of nature that they will take a picture with it." Some perps even post their pics online, but hiccups like search warrants and missing chargers can hamper use of cellphone evidence. Still, crime experts praise the technology, much to the chagrin of defense attorneys. (More criminal stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X