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Youtube: A Crime Fighter?
Posted by Maria Ng
on
8:04 AM
The online video sharing community is what we deemed as one of the most efficient tool of information of today's world. Video sharing website such as Youtube especially is undeniably the most favorable and popular video sharing website all over the world. However, the online video sharing community is experiencing some changes in the utilization of the website itself. When Youtube was once a form of entertainment and information sharing website has now become a platform for the online community to post and upload videos relating to crimes and whatsoever related to crime.
In a recent case, a Malaysian student was attacked by a group of rioters during the London's riot and later on was mugged by a group of men. In the video, the student was identified as Asyraf Haziq, a first year in the Kaplan IUniversity. The 75 seconds video depicted the crime as to how the muggers came along to help him but instead these so called 'samaritans' were just mugging him unconsciously. However, another student Abdul Hamid who shot the video was there when it happened but was helpless for fear of getting beaten up as well. He then uploaded the video to Youtube which sparked much controversy regarding the crime. Most people described the act by the gangsters as sickening for stealing from a helpless kid. (The Star Online, 2011)
Photo taken from The Star Online, showing how the helpless Asyraf Haziq was mugged by the group of gangster.
Over here, we can see how powerful Youtube is. The online community may or may not have been involved directly to the investigation of the crime, but the unanimous condemnation towards the heinous crime have led to the investigation by the Metropolitan Police in London. If before the identity of the victim was unknown, now the Internet users who viewed the footage in Youtube have indirectly brought coverage or exposure to the ears of the authority. Internet users have been posting videos of fighting and assaults whereby the law enforcers used the videos to prosecute the individual committing the assaults (Dempsey and Forst, 2011). So, the power of video sharing in solving crimes is indeed bringing transformation to the notion of crime fighting as we have so often heard of. Therefore, the role of the online video sharing website may not necessary serve the purpose of entertainment only, nonetheless we are now utilizing Youtube for the purpose of crime fighting as well.
Most criminals would always try to hide trails of their criminal activities. However, in this case, this 18 years old boy had his friend filmed him while he swiped of the glasses from the charity worker. Later on, he had the video uploaded to Youtube in which the police busted him afterwards. Imagine that. A criminal who films his criminal acts, and had the video posted online whereby everyone from everywhere can actually view it. This daft boy could have been looking for popularity from the online community but looks like it landed him much trouble than he could bargained for.
Once again, Youtube or any other online video sharing websites have become important tool for crime fighting in this border-less with geographical barrier no longer the constraint to aiding criminal investigation. Yet again, the question of authenticity and validation of the videos posted and shared remain murky as anyone can just upload, post or share any videos any where and any time. So, the ethical use of communication technology is once again the most disconcerting issue that worries us as Internet users.
References:
Dempsey, J.S. and Forst, L.S. (2011). Police. Delmar Cengage Learning. New York
Rahimy Rahim and Qishin Tariq. (2010). The Star Online. British Riot: Malaysian Student Injured In London. Retrieved from: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/10/nation/9272131&sec=nation
Wardrop, M. (2011). The Telegraph. Youtube Crime Victim A Malaysian Student. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8691953/London-riots-YouTube-crime-victim-a-Malaysian-student.html
Ramirez L. (2010). Gizmodo. Thugs Post Crime On Youtube And Gets Busted. Retrieved from: http://gizmodo.com/210649/thug-posts-crime-on-youtube-and-gets-busted
Most criminals would always try to hide trails of their criminal activities. However, in this case, this 18 years old boy had his friend filmed him while he swiped of the glasses from the charity worker. Later on, he had the video uploaded to Youtube in which the police busted him afterwards. Imagine that. A criminal who films his criminal acts, and had the video posted online whereby everyone from everywhere can actually view it. This daft boy could have been looking for popularity from the online community but looks like it landed him much trouble than he could bargained for.
Once again, Youtube or any other online video sharing websites have become important tool for crime fighting in this border-less with geographical barrier no longer the constraint to aiding criminal investigation. Yet again, the question of authenticity and validation of the videos posted and shared remain murky as anyone can just upload, post or share any videos any where and any time. So, the ethical use of communication technology is once again the most disconcerting issue that worries us as Internet users.
References:
Dempsey, J.S. and Forst, L.S. (2011). Police. Delmar Cengage Learning. New York
Rahimy Rahim and Qishin Tariq. (2010). The Star Online. British Riot: Malaysian Student Injured In London. Retrieved from: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/10/nation/9272131&sec=nation
Wardrop, M. (2011). The Telegraph. Youtube Crime Victim A Malaysian Student. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8691953/London-riots-YouTube-crime-victim-a-Malaysian-student.html
Ramirez L. (2010). Gizmodo. Thugs Post Crime On Youtube And Gets Busted. Retrieved from: http://gizmodo.com/210649/thug-posts-crime-on-youtube-and-gets-busted
