I’ve been holding this story for a few days hoping to get more info. It’s such a great idea, I can’t wait any longer.
A burglar who targeted churches has been jailed for five years after he was trapped by a text message.
Christopher Coulthard, 43, was arrested when a builder who had signed up for police text alerts saw him entering a church near Brandon in Suffolk. Police had sent 6,000 texts asking Suffolk residents to be on the lookout.
Suffolk Police spokesman Mike Nunn said Coulthard had been released from prison and was on parole when he committed the latest offences.
It is the first time that anyone has been arrested as a direct result of a text message sent by the Police Direct scheme, which was launched last August.
Is anyone getting anything like this started in the US?
Wow! SOMETHING good to come from cell phone use. This is unprecedented! They ought to declare a national holiday.
Cell phones don’t catch criminals, people do.
Using the local radio station and/orTV reaches more people… probably better results than only one in 8 months.
Chances are that ppl will be jailed for spying rather than being praised for helping stop crime.
Uh. People don’t text message in the U.S. The networks don’t really talk to each other well. SMS is dead in the U.S. Maybe the 13 year olds doing it will grow up and actually make text messaging popular but by then email and IM clients will just be on our phones in 10 years.
“Chances are that ppl will be jailed for spying rather than being praised for helping stop crime.”
Did you read the article? No one was spying. Someone got a police alert to look out for this criminal via text message, saw the criminal, and probably called the police to get him arrested.
So 911 would not work?
Read the details, folks. The police txtmsg’d 6000 people in the county. They were told to watch for this guy. A contractor working across the street from the church he was burgling was watching — and called the cops. It’s 8 months since the program started and the crook — was Sentenced — last week.
Maybe folks in your office don’t textmsg — FT; but, industry stats on nationwide use disagree. I don’t txtmsg either. But, I would sign up for a program with the local heat. I’m one of those nosy neighbors that’s called 911 and caught burglars twice in recent years.
NUK, the point isn’t whether or not 911 works. It’s notifying people to open their eyes. A bit more subtle than the Amber Alert system. And covering more than just folks in their cars.
>>Maybe folks in your office don’t textmsg
They don’t in mine. Their teenaged daughters, maybe, but I don’t know a single grownup who uses that. I tried it a couple of times on my cell phone, and quickly realized why nobody who actually has anything to do with their time does it.
Sounds too much like the TIPS program they thought of a while back.
Another way to fight crime. I like it. The more tools you have the easier it is to get the job done. You know rap sheets must be updated regularly for some people sort of like a resume.
Everybody texts in England…..I was amazed when I first went over there for school. I don’t, because I refuse to be chained to a cell phone, but I notice that my nephews do it a lot in Arizona.
There are so many snitch’s in England it’s like living in the old USSR. I’m not surprised the guy was able to spot the crook, since spying on people is a way of life there. They get some sort of vicarious thrill out of calling the police to have someone who parked 3″ out of their park zone or who used a hose to water their Azaleas. The only crime no one ever seems to report is pissing in the street.