POSTACRIME.COM: Making the Community a Safer Place

January 6th, 2009 in News, by Head Honcho

Crimes against property are perennial problems of every society. In the United States alone, millions of people fall victim to burglary, larceny, robbery and vehicle theft. To say that a person who has been victimized feels frustrated is an understatement.

It is thus no surprise that security is a top priority among establishment owners. That is why surveillance videos are normally installed in store premises in order to deter property crimes. However, even installing a thousand-dollar surveillance system will not ensure that no crime will happen. Cameras will merely guarantee that whatever crime is committed is caught on tape. But security precautions and hours of surveillance videos will all be for naught if the perpetrator cannot be identified.

POSTACRIME.COM offers a solution by enlisting the help of the crowd in identifying the perpetrators of such crimes.

POSTACRIME.COM is a free service for anyone to upload photo or video content of burglary, theft, vandalism, or other criminal acts that have been caught on camera for the purpose of identification by the public. A member simply has to post a photo/video of a particular incident on the website. The criminal would then be exposed to millions of people worldwide, increasing the likelihood of identifying him. Anyone can then give a useful tip if he knows any information about the criminal.

If a photo/video poster is really intent on having the perpetrator identified, he can give a corresponding reward to anyone who gives a useful tip.

For the poster, the information that he receives can be turned over to the police for further investigation - possibly leading to an arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. For the tipster, he contributes to the security of his neighborhood. If he’s lucky, he gets to receive money for his tip as well.

POSTACRIME.COM’s contribution to the community does not end there. Its members can also search the site’s crime database by address or zipcode and view crimes committed near their homes and places of work. The website has also added a section for pictures of missing children, so that people can give whatever information to help find these kids. And it’s just not private citizens who can be part of POSTACRIME.COM’s community; police departments can participate as well.

POSTACRIME.COM’s crowdsourcing model of preventing crime has not gone unnoticed. It has even gained attention from mainstream media. Check out the news clip below featuring the website and one of its founders, David Stone.